Three sex abuse lawsuits against the man who once voiced “Sesame Street’s” Elmo character have been dismissed by a federal appeals court.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals made its ruling April 2 in the case of puppeteer Kevin Clash, who resigned from his job after allegations first surfaced in November 2012. The ruling agrees with a lower court’s decision that the accusers waited too long to file their suits.
The appellate court’s decision on the three New York lawsuits does not cover a separate lawsuit, filed in Pennsylvania last year, by Clash’s first public accuser. No resolution of the Pennsylvania case has been announced.
A district judge had dismissed the New York suits last July, ruling that the statute of limitations — which requires a filing within six years of the alleged crime or three years after the plaintiffs turned 18 — had run out.
Information from CNN, The Associated Press and KMOV.com contributed to this report.
