Stephen Collins, the actor who played the patriarch of the Camden family and minister on the family TV series “7th Heaven,” confessed to his wife three instances of child molestation, TMZ reports.
Collins, 67, and his wife, Faye Grant, began going through a divorce in 2012, which is when he first admitted to exposing himself to several underage girls. TMZ has the audio tape, which censors the children’s names, and on it Collins tells Grant and a therapist what happened.
He said one of the girls was 11, and it continued until she was 12 or 13. The girl is thought to be a relative of his first wife, Marjorie Weinman.
“There was one moment of touching where her hand, I put her hand on my penis.”
Another one of the girls lived in his neighborhood, and Collins said he saw her 12 or 15 years ago, and “made amends.”
Four cast members of ‘7th Heaven’ are pictured: MacKenzie Rosman, Beverly Mitchell, David Gallegher and Stephen Collins. (Photo: Getty Images)
Apparently Collins did not know he was being taped, but Grant’s lawyer advised her to do so because it’s legal to secretly record someone if it’s gathering evidence for a possible felony. The New York Police Department is believed to be investigating.
The show, where the couple had seven children, aired from 1996 until 2007. Mackenzie Rosman, who played Ruthie, was six years old when the show started filming.