Man dressed as Elmo accused of groping teen girl in New York's Times Square

A street performer dressed as Elmo waves close to Times Square in 2016. Photo / Getty

A 54-year-old man has been arrested for groping a 14-year-old girl while dressed as the lovable Sesame Street character Elmo.

Inocente Andrade-Pacheco was performing as the character in New York's Times Square when the incident occurred.

The New York Daily News reports that the victim and her family had approached him for a photo and while they posed Andrade-Pacheco's red furry hand slid down the young girl's back and touched her rear.

The family called police who arrested the New Jersey man, who is now facing charges including forcible touching and acting in a manner injurious to a child.

The incident is the latest in a long line of incidents involving costumed performers in Times Square, one of New York's major tourist drawcards.

In 2014 Spider-Man punched a police officer in the face, Woody from Toy Story was arrested for groping young girls and Cookie Monster attacked a toddler.

A group of children's costume characters stand waiting to interact with tourists in Times Square. Photo / Getty

In response, authorities created legislation in 2016 that defined "designated activity zones" in Times Square to regulate where characters can be and limit peddling.

Council member Dan Garodnick told the New York Post: "We need spaces to create a little order out of the chaos."

Timothy Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, told the Daily News that the organisation was aware of a growing number of complaints about people being touched without consent.

"The police are doing what they can, but we think there's a need for some additional regulations or legislation, and we know the City Council is working on that."

Elmo is one of Sesame Street's most famous residents and his Elmo's World segment has been a firm favourite with toddlers.

He has made guest appearances on popular television shows and the Tickle Me Elmo doll was massively popular after its launch in 1996.

Some Sesame Street traditionalists have blamed Elmo for eclipsing older favourites such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, labelling him the "Little Red Menace".