On Monday, a judge in New York City threw out three sensational lawsuits against Kevin Clash, the longtime voice of beloved Sesame Street character Elmo, according to the Daily News.
In the suits, Clash, 53, had been accused of preying on underage boys. He resigned from the show last year after the scandal erupted. The plaintiffs had six years to file suits against Clash, according to the statute of limitations, but they all missed the deadline, the judge ruled.
The accuser known as John Doe said he was 17 when he had a sexual encounter with Clash in his New York apartment in early 1996.
Cecil Singleton said he was 15 when he began his "relationship" with Clash in 2003.
Kevin Kiadii said he was 16 when he was "lured" to Clash's apartment in 2005, and had a sexual encounter with him.
The plaintiffs all said they weren't aware of the "adverse psychological and emotional effects" they'd suffered as a result of their encounters until last year, but in a ruling released Monday morning, Judge John Koeltl found that wasn't enough of an argument to trump the statute of limitations in the three cases.
Read more at the Daily News.