The man who allegedly had sex with Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash when he was 16 has been revealed to have a history of run-ins with the law, including arrests for armed robbery, reckless driving and fraudulent checks. Sheldon Stephens, 24, is an aspiring model, and retracted his allegations against Clash on Tuesday, just a day after they became public. Details of how Stephens and Clash became involved have not yet been revealed, but Clash was forced to take a leave of absence from Sesame Street.
According to The Smoking Gun, Stephens was arrested for robbing his former boss at knife point for $250,000 in jewelry in 2009, the most serious in a series of offenses. After being fired from his internship in Los Angeles, he robbed Darian Pollard and boarded a flight back to his hometown of Harrisburg, PA, where police were waiting for him.
TMZ had previously reported that the Harrisburg law firm representing Stephens was negotiating a six figure settlement with Clash. Instead, Andreozzi & Associates revealed that they were no longer representing Stephens, and that “his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.”
Still, the allegations may have cost Clash his job, and made his sexuality a public matter. Stephens may have similarly damaged his own aspirations as an actor and model, which are detailed on his Facebook page.
“I like to consider myself a rare breed. I’m very spontaneous and random…I’m determined and goal oriented,” his bio reads. “My destiny is laid on a solid gold brick pathway……. MY FUTURE IS BRIGHT and never will it dim.”
Source: Atlantablackstar.com