This isn’t the kind of news we wanted to discuss over coffee this morning but in some shocking news, ‘7th Heaven’ actor, Stephen Collins, is facing child molestation charges.
Collins is now under criminal investigation after secret recordings of the actor confessing to the crimes surfaced. The tapes were in the possession of the actor’s now estranged wife, Faye Grant, whom he confessed to. Revelation of the actor’s indiscretions are now surfacing amidst the couples current and bitter divorce.
According to TMZ.com (now in possession of the times)…
Collins — who is in the middle of a nasty, prolonged divorce with actress Faye Grant — revealed to her in 2012 he had molested and/or exposed himself to several underage girls years before. Collins and Grant went to a therapist where she peppered him with questions about the incidents … and he not only answered, he was specific.
Here’s what Collins didn’t know at the time. Grant taped the therapy session. We’re told her lawyer advised her it was legal to secretly record the conversation because in California you’re allowed to secretly record conversations to gather evidence the other person committed a violent felony … and molesting a child under the age of 14 qualifies.
You hear Collins flatly confess to molesting an 11-year-old New York girl — a relative of his first wife — saying, “There was one moment of touching where her hand, I put her hand on my penis.” He also acknowledges exposing himself to the girl “a couple of times” … he says when she was 11, 12 and 13.
TMZ has also learned that there are at least three victims and the nature of the investigation is “inappropriate sexual contact with minors.”
One of the alleged victims is believed to be a relative of Collins’ first wife, whom reported the molestation in 2012.
One law enforcement source tells us … although decades have passed since the molestation, they believe the case can still be prosecuted because the statute of limitations runs from the date of reporting.
Collins — who is on the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild — frequently interacts with young actresses. In addition to “7th Heaven,” he was also on the ABC Family show “The Fosters,” about a bunch of young kids being raised in a foster family. And he had a role in the recent show, “Revolution” … which also had underage actors.
Wow!
