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Stephen Collins is publicly confessing to molesting three girls, more than two months after a leaked recording featured the “7th Heaven” star discussing his sordid past in a therapy session.
As Gossip Cop reported, the audio surfaced in early October in the midst of a divorce battle with his estranged wife Faye Grant. The consequences were swift: The actor was fired from Ted 2 and “Scandal,” and “7th Heaven” was yanked from the air, where the beloved family drama had been a syndication mainstay for years. As Collins’ attorney attacked Faye, the actor himself remained silent about the allegations.
That is until now. In a lengthy statement to People, Collins says, “Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since.” He explains, “I’ve decided to address these issues publicly because two months ago, 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.”
“On the recording, I described events that took place 20, 32, and 40 years ago. The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred. As difficult as this is, I want people to know the truth,” says Collins.
Collins, who claims he has “not had an impulse to act out in any such way” in the last 20 years, further says he has “agonized” over whether he should directly apologize to his victims. “I did have an opportunity to do so with one of the women, 15 years later. I apologized and she was extraordinarily gracious,” he says. The star goes on, “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.”
The sexual abuse incidents took place between 1973 and 1994. “7th Heaven” premiered in 1996. Collins’ full statement will appear in the new issue of People, on newsstands Friday. He will also sit for an interview with Katie Couric, which will stream on Yahoo! and air on “20/20″ Friday. What do you think of Collins’ confession?
