Kevin Clash the puppeteer who controls the movements and provides the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street"  is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage boy several years ago.

The accuser is 23 now, and he claims it happened seven years ago, when he was 16 and Clash was 45.  

Clash admits he had a relationship with the accuser, but not until he was an ADULT. 

He says, "It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."  He adds, "I am a gay man.  I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter."

Producers of Sesame Street asked the accuser to produce evidence, which he never did.  Ultimately, they concluded that there was no basis for the accusations.

They did "discipline" Kevin, though, because during their investigation, they determined that he had, "violated company policy regarding Internet usage."  There's no word what he did.

Clash is currently on leave while this gets sorted out.  Sesame Workshop says, "Kevin insists that these allegations are false and defamatory and he has taken actions to protect his reputation.  We have granted him a leave of absence to do so."

Most importantly, ELMO WILL NOT DIE.  Sesame says, "Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world."