From Fox News:

In 2011, Muppeteer Kevin Clash starred in the Sundance award-winning documentary "Being Elmo." 

"When I was nine years old, it was just a dream that I had: Wow, I wish that I could work with the Muppets," Clash says in the film's trailer.

Now that dream has turned into a nightmare.

Sesame Workshop says Clash, Elmo's puppeteer and voice, has resigned from "Sesame Street" in the wake of allegations that he had sex with not one but two young boys.

Last week, a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was 16, a charge Clash denied. The man recanted his underage sex claim, but then recanted his recantation, saying he had been pressured into it.

But on Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York charging Clash with sexual abuse of a second youth. The lawsuit alleges that Cecil Singleton, then 15 and now an adult, was persuaded by Clash to meet for sexual encounters.

The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $5 million.

It was more than Sesame Street could stomach.

"Sesame Workshop's mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization," the program said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us wants, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street."

Last week, as the sex scandal unfolded, Sesame Street honchos tried to assure fans that the high-pitched Muppet was more than just the voice Clash gave him.

"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," Sesame Street's rep said.

In addition to his marquee role as Elmo, Clash had served as the show's senior Muppet coordinator and Muppet captain. He won 23 daytime Emmy awards and one prime-time Emmy.

The AP contributed to this report.