Now that the dust has settled on the 2012 general election, stories of improper sexual conduct have begin to dominate the national media landscape. I wish I could recap the story swirling around resigning CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, but the twists and turns are honestly quite difficult to follow. Secret CIA prisons, affairs, FBI investigations... It's all a bit much. Plus, there's not really a gay angle to the story.

But over the weekend, a second story broke with a decidedly gay subplot.

The puppeteer and voice behind “Sesames Street” character Elmo was forced to take a leave of absence from the show following an accusation he had an improper sexual relationship with a then-16-year old male.

Kevin Clash, a co-executive producer for the show in addition to his Elmo duties, has admitted to a relationship with the accuser, but claims that he was 18 at the time, not 16. The accuser is now 23, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit producers of the children's show.

Sesame Workshop's complete statement:

In June of this year, Sesame Workshop received a communication from a then 23 year old man who alleged that he had a relationship beginning when he was 16 years old with Kevin Clash, a Sesame Workshop puppeteer who performs as Elmo.

We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action. We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding internet usage and he was disciplined.

Kevin insists that the allegation of underage conduct is false and defamatory and he is taking actions to protect his reputation. We have granted him a leave of absence to do so.

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, as it has for 40 years.