Two months after a recording of Stephen Collins confessing to child molestation came out, the "7th Heaven" actor has now publicly admitted to such acts. Collins made the revelation in an interview with People magazine this December.
The 67-year-old actor, known for his role as the minister in the family drama, told People, "Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since."
Collins was referring to an audiotape released by TMZ in which he confessed to sexually abusing three minor girls from 1973 to 1994. The actor said he had no knowledge he was being recorded.
He added," Various news organizations published a recording made by my then-wife, Faye Grant, during a confidential marriage therapy session in January 2012. This session was recorded without the therapist's or my knowledge or consent."
Many were aghast when the news came out. Collins' role in "7th Heaven" was a minister and father to three ladies. He told People, "I appeared for 11 seasons on a television series with a cast that included minor females in our TV family, and countless other young actresses throughout the show's eleven years."
He continued, "I never behaved inappropriately on or off that set - or on any set I've worked on." Collins also declared, "I have not had an impulse to act out in any such way in the last 20 years."
Collins also described the response of the public after hearing the tape. He noted, "The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred."
The controversy led television networks who were showing re-runs of "7th Heaven" to cancel it. The actor was also removed from the cast of the upcoming movie "Ted 2" and "Scandal," according to Syracuse.com. An investigation on the matter also ensued after the leaked tape but Collins was never prosecuted for the offenses.
The actor expressed his regret with what he did and mentioned he had been taking actions to redress his mistake. "I did have an opportunity to do so with one of the women, 15 years later. I apologized and she was extraordinarily gracious," Business Insider quoted him.
"But after I learned in the course of my treatment that my being direct about such matters could actually make things worse for them by opening old wounds, I have not approached the other two women, one of whom is now in her 50s and the other in her 30s," he stated.
