Stephen Collins Admits to Sexual Misconduct With Underage Girls
Celebrity

The '7th Heaven' actor confesses to molesting three young girls and apologizes for that but insists there had been no inappropriate sexual conduct since the last incident in 1994.

AceShowbiz - Stephen Collins admits to molesting minor girls, saying that he sexually abused three young girls in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. "I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret," the actor says in a statement. "I have been working to atone for it ever since."

The star known for his wholesome role on the long-running family drama series "7th Heaven" confesses to exposing himself twice to a pre-teen girl in 1973 when he was 25 years old and having another inappropriate encounter with the same girl in his house.

"When the girl and I were watching TV alone, I moved her hand in such a way that caused her to touch me inappropriately,'' he opens up to PEOPLE. "It was a completely impulsive act, and it's haunted me ever since to think of what I put her through."

He also reveals about exposing himself to two teenage girls in 1982 and 1994. "I deeply regret the mistakes I've made and any pain I have caused these three women," he says as quoted by Today.com. "I admit to, apologize for, and take responsibility for what I did."

Now 67 years old, Collins says he has been in therapy for the past 20 years and has "not had an impulse to act out in any such way" since the last incident two decades ago. He also insists that he always kept himself in check during his time on "7th Heaven".

"I appeared for eleven 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 says. "I never behaved inappropriately on or off that set - or on any set I've ever worked on."

"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," he continues. "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."

Collins says he had personally apologized to one of his victims, but hadn't done so with the other two. "I did have an opportunity to do so with one of the women, 15 years later. I apologized and she was extraordinarily gracious," he claims.

"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."

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