Stephens v. Clash

Clash is best known as the voice of Sesame Street’s Elmo. Stephens and Clash met in 2004 when Stephens was 16 years old and Clash was 44. Stephens claims Clash was immediately interested in a sexual relationship and arranged by telephone to have Stephens transported from Pennsylvania to New York City by chauffeured car. They engaged in a “pattern of sexual activity . . . over a period of years.” Although he was “a compliant victim showered with attention and affection,” Stephens contends that he “did not become aware that he had suffered adverse psychological and emotional effects” until 2011. Stephens also claimed that Clash “compelled [Stephens] to engage in sexual contacts by intellectual, emotional and psychological force.” Stephens filed suit in 2013, nine years after the relationship began, and seven years after Stephens turned 18, alleging claims under 18 U.S.C. 2255(a) and sexual battery under state law. The court dismissed the claims as untimely, applying the discovery rule; the complaint demonstrated that he “discovered or should have discovered his injury in or before July 2006.” The Third Circuit affirmed. Given that section 2255 creates a cause of action only for violations occurring while the victim was a minor, Clash’s sexual relationship with Stephens was not actionable after 2006. View "Stephens v. Clash" on Justia Law