Not Guilty! | Source: PNP/WENN.com

Thankfully, all of our hopes and wishes came true today when the accuser (who remains anonymous) had his lawyer release a statement saying, “he wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.” Phew! The thought of cute little Elmo being tied up in something so horrible was giving us the creeps. We’re so glad it’s not true and just sorry that Kevin Clash had to go through all of this. Hopefully he can get back to having cool adventures with Elmo and put all this stupid drama behind him!

Were you as upset as we were about the Elmo sex scandal? Why do you think people make such terrible accusations if they’re not true? Tell us in the comments!

Did You See Zac Efron On Sesame Street? Too Cute!

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Source: PNP/WENN.com

Here’s something I never thought I’d read: Kevin Clash, otherwise known as the voice of Elmo from Sesame Street, was recently accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy. Elmo?! Sweet, funny, adorable, fuzzy Elmo? Say it isn’t so, world! I mean, yeah, Kevin and Elmo are not the same person (thing? Animal? Species? I don’t know what Elmo is, honestly), but still – I’m finding it pretty hard to believe that the squeaky voice behind Elmo’s huge smile did something so completely disturbing.

The story gets even weirder than that simple accusation. Although Kevin firmly denies that he had sex with an underage boy, he has still taken a leave of absence from Sesame Street to deal with everything that’s going on. Suspicious? Maybe. Or maybe Kevin is just trying to put all of his time into proving his innocence.

Here’s what happened: A 23-year-old man claimed that he started a sexual relationship with Kevin seven years ago, which would make him 16 and Kevin 45. While Kevin admitted that he did have a relationship with this dude, he insists that it happened only when the kid was legal. But still – a 30 year age difference? I’m all for dating older dudes, the saying age is just a number and all of that good stuff, but… it’s still pretty gross. And the fact that this guy was possibly underage at the time it allegedly happened (if his side of the story is right)? Even more gross.

As expected, the younger dude hired himself a lawyer, who eventually accused Sesame Workshop of trying to “discredit the victim in order to protect its employee and the image of one of it’s most valuable characters.” Basically, they said that the people over at Sesame Workshop were willing to let a statutory rapist run free in order to protect the reputation of a kid’s character as lovable and famous as Elmo. But Sesame Workshop told TMZ that they conducted a thorough investigation and they say there’s no evidence to prove that the claim of underage sex is true. While there are a few emails floating around, officials believe one is fake.

So, did Kevin have sex with an underage boy… or is this guy totally lying? I have no idea what would cause someone to make something like that up, but at the same time, it’s completely possible. I mean, some of the celeb lawsuits out there are seriously ridiculous (remember Justin Bieber’s baby mama drama?). Maybe things ended badly between these two and this is a sick form of revenge. Maybe the accuser is just trying to make money out of the deal. Or, maybe it really did happen. Who knows? 

If you’re stressing over Elmo, don’t. Apparently, there are other people who can handle the voice of one of our favorite puppets, so there’s no need to worry about losing the little guy while Kevin takes his leave of absence. Sesame Workshop told TMZ: “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.”

Either way? It might be hard to ever look at Elmo the same way again. Sorry to ruin your childhood memories, guys.

Are you shocked by this story? Have you ever dated someone a lot older than you? Do you think that this guy is lying? Tell us in the comments.

Here’s what happens when you have sex with an older guy

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Sarah Jones, a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a student. So that means it’s cool to get a TV show? | Source: Dateline NBC

Most people think it’s wrong to profit from a crime (there’s even a law against it called the Son of Sam Law)–no one should really be rewarded for doing bad things, right? So why did a sex offender get a reality TV deal?

Because, in this case, the criminal was a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader.

Sarah Jones, the former captain of the Bengals cheerleading squad and a high school English teacher, was charged with sexual misconduct for having sex with a 17-year-old student. Sarah is pretty, brunette, and was a face of the NFL–she even appeared on their Bengals calendar covers! So a lot of people didn’t view the student, Cody York, as a victim. It was more like high-fives in the hallway for him and whispers of “tramp” and “slut” in the hallway for her. While it can, in part, be attributed to slut shaming, there’s something else really creepy about the case. What is it?

Picture this with the genders reversed. If an older dude preyed on a female student, do you think he’d get a reality show? Do you think they’d be supported? Would it be a bragging right for the student? Probably not. He’d be considered a perv and gross. She even admitted in court, “I began a romantic relationship while he was a student and I was in a position of authority. Our romantic relationship included voluminous phone calls and text messages. I sent sexually explicit text messages to Cody York when he was a student. I had sexual contact including sexual intercourse with Cody York in Kenton County, Kentucky, while he was a student and I was a teacher.” Uh, that’s the wrong thing to do. And while it wasn’t illegal for her to walk out of court hand-in-hand with Cody, it probably sent a really bad message to the justice system: “Hey, look what I got away with!”

Sarah Jones plead guilty, and as a result of avoiding a trial, she’s got five years of probation and won’t have to register as a sex offender, but because she was convicted of a sex crime, that’s technically what she is. She’s just not listed in the database as one, you dig?

Sarah and Cody, who recently came out as a couple, are going to get a reality series about their relationship, and Sarah and Cody have been paid for other television appearances they’ve made about the case, including Dateline NBC specials. We can’t imagine this will be entertaining at all to watch, and, if anything, would just gross us out. What people do in their sex lives is their business, unless what they’re doing is illegal.

Here’s hoping everyone has good enough taste not to watch this hot mess of a show. If the ratings are low enough, maybe everyone involved will learn that there are real consequences to their actions–and that their relationship may not just be unhealthy and ill-fated, but also not too lucrative.

Do you think Sarah Jones should get a reality show about her relationship with Cody York? Do you think any other sex offender would get a TV deal? Do you think if the genders were reversed that the sex offender would get a worse rep? Do you think Sarah Jones should have been in trouble for her relationship with Cody York even though it was consensual? Tell us in the comments!

This guy committed statutory rape–and only went to jail on weekends.

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Under the new "no sex" bill, this may be illegal! | Source: Shutterstock

What would you do if there was no sex allowed where you live? Think Footloose, but worse (and naked). You’d probably freak, right? (Er, maybe not the best choice of words.) That whole “no sex dystopia” may become a reality for teens in India.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Bill in India wasn’t necessarily designed to enforce a no sex rule, but to prevent children and teens from sexual abuse, which is rampant in the nation. In fact, over 50 percent of children and teens report being sexually abused at least once, and that’s scary–because that’s only the reported cases. So this whole “no sex under 18″ rule sounds like a pretty noble cause, doesn’t it?

Problem is, the bill is full of unrealistic and potentially dangerous rules that essentially add up to allowing no sex of any kind, consensual or not, for anyone–even if your partner is the same age. The bill promises to punish anyone who commits sexual acts of various kinds–and they were listed in pretty explicit detail–to or with anyone under 18 years old.

But consider this: Most women and girls in India get married before they’re 18, with nearly 1 in 5 getting married before they’re even 15. Sorta hard to imagine, right? And even harder to imagine that these married women and girls are having no sex with their hubbies. A lot of skeptics are asking that the no sex ban lower the age of consent in India to 16 to accommodate the reality there–and elsewhere.

While supporters of the bill insist that anyone under 18 having consensual sex with someone else their age won’t be necessarily thrown into juvey (they recommend counseling), it sort of sets a weird, unrealistic standard. India has the second highest population on the planet right now and is where the Kama Sutra originated–do we really expect a no sex rule to work there? (Or anywhere at all ever?!)

It seems like something like this could never go down here, right? Well, while there’s no “no sex” rule in place, there are similar ones, like the “gateway sexual acts” rule. Scary!

Obviously, creepy old guys are the target for the no sex law, and we totally support that–of course we don’t endorse sexual abuse of any kind. But sexual abuse isn’t the same thing as sexual activity, and a no sex rule is banning just that. If teens are aware of the risks involved with having sex and take necessary precautions to keep themselves and their consenting, age-appropriate partners safe, why should the government force a no sex rule into place?

No sex allowed--even if you're the same age and you both want it. | Source: Shutterstock

And it begs another question, too: How exactly will they enforce a no sex rule without, well, being kinda weird about it? How will they make sure girls and their boyfriends or husbands are having no sex? Are they gonna peek through windows, or just assume it’s not happening unless reported? (And uh, who’s going to report having consensual sex?) It just seems like a giant can of worms is just waiting to be opened. A really skeevy, gross, invasive can of worms.

What would you think if a no sex law passed in the U.S.? Do you agree with India’s no sex law? Do you think a no sex law could ever go through where you live? Tell us in the comments!

Need To Talk Sex With Your Guy? Here’s How

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Thinking of having sex with an older guy? Think again. | Source: Shutterstock

Why? Even if you willingly have sex with an older guy, there are all sorts of risks–including your own legal dramas, and potential child pornography charges if you take nude pics of yourself–or if he snaps some of you. Someone worth going to bed with, if he really likes you, will wait til he can do it legally.

We feel bad for one girl in particular who was foolish enough to have sex with an older guy–and this guy was way older! Ready to get creeped out? A 24-year-old guy named Christopher Bradley Nutt (go ahead and laugh, we’ll wait) found a 12-year-old girl online and engaged in all sorts of sex with her at his house. Having sex with an older guy is risky enough, but this girl was half his age!

As if that weren’t bad enough, the girl’s parents found out in the worst possible way. She went missing and they figured out where she was through her cell phone convos with pals–and the cops came to arrest Nutt and take her home. Based on the report, as if the girl’s experience wasn’t traumatic enough as is, she and Nutt clearly had to talk to cops in pretty graphic detail about what went down in his bedroom, because each sex act is a different criminal charge for him. Can you imagine having total strangers–and your parents!–know in detail exactly what you did when you had sex with an older guy (or anyone)? The ick factor is mega high. Talk about humiliating.

To top everything off, just take a look at this douche. He clearly thinks he’s hot stuff, but uh, hello? If he were as hot as he thinks he is, he could get someone legal. And that’s something to remember if you’re ever considering having sex with an older guy: Is there a reason he’s not with someone his own age?

The answer is probably a resounding “yes.” Especially if he still takes pictures of himself in his bathroom mirror.

Have you ever had sex with an older guy? Would you have sex with an older guy? What would you do if your parents found out you had sex with an older guy? Tell us in the comments!

Douche Bag, Defined!

Come on, this doesn't creep you out at least a little? | Source: Shutterstock

A 32-year-old guy in Ohio named Jeremy Bowlin had sex with a minor. That’s statutory rape. The girl was 16. That’s half his age. Bowlin was looking at about 10 years in prison, but plead down to one count of “unlawful sexual conduct” and got 10 weekends. That’s 20 days. That’s a pretty big difference, isn’t it?

To his credit, Bowlin had no prior criminal history (though that simply could mean he’d never gotten caught boning minors before), so that likely played a role in his sentencing as well. But bear in mind that despite Bowlin now being registered as a sex offender, which is pretty serious, the court didn’t find it serious enough to warrant weekdays in jail? Dude, seriously? Bowlin also had to pay a $400 fine and was ordered by the judge to have no contact with the victim, nor with anyone under 18–except his niece, who is a minor, and only when her parents are with her.

To a lot of people, Bowlin’s punishment seems pretty fair. We would almost agree with that, but then his lawyer fired off a remark that showed that he and likely his client are missing the point of all of this. Bowlin’s attorney, John Helbling, told the judge, “This particular individual came of her own free will, to hang out with Mr. Bowlin.”

So because a minor used poor judgment and came to hang out with a guy twice her age, it absolves him from the fact that he knowingly and deliberately broke the law? If you willingly wear a miniskirt and go to a guy’s house, is it okay for him to force himself on you? Of course not. In the same vein, even if the girl went to Bowlin’s house to hang out on her own free will, and even if whatever sexual contact Bowlin had with this minor was consensual, it’s still illegal in their state of Ohio. It’s still wrong. And, frankly, it’s still creepy that a guy would pursue a minor literally half his age so nonchalantly.

So many of you are so smart and more than capable of making your own decisions, but older guys have tricks they often use to manipulate younger girls–you may think they’re more mature and sophisticated than guys your age, right? But here’s the thing: if they really were so great, they would either find and have a girlfriend their own age or be mature and responsible enough to wait until you were the legal age of consent before pursuing any kind of relationship with you, period.

The fact that he and his attorney can’t seem to wrap their heads around that fact enough to take responsibility for his role in a crime makes him sound even more dangerous to us–if he doesn’t see why what he did was wrong, he’ll probably do it again. The only good thing about Bowlin’s bizarre sentencing? He’d only have time to “hang out” with minors on school nights.

Do you think statutory rape should be a crime? Do you think Scott Bowlin’s sentencing is fair? Do you think it should have been more harsh or more lenient? Have you ever been hit on by a creepy old guy? Tell us in the comments!

Sexual Violence And Rape Are No Joke. Here’s Why