The former '7th Heaven' actor says he's not attracted to children and blames his inappropriate actions on 'distortion' in his thinking.
- December 20, 2014
AceShowbiz -
Stephen Collins denies he's a pedophile although he recently admitted to have sexually abused three young girls in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In an interview with Katie Couric streamed on Yahoo! and aired on "20/20" Friday, December 19, the actor tried to explain what drove him to do such inappropriate actions.
"I do not fit either the clinical or dictionary definition of it," Collins said. "A pedophile is someone who is mainly or wholly attracted to children. I'm not. I had a distortion in my thinking where I acted out in those ways. But I'm absolutely not attracted, physically or sexually attracted to children. I'm just not."
"Those actions, I think, had more to do with that kind of, distortion in my thinking and need for attention," he explained, adding that he himself was molested when he was 10-15 years old by an older woman who repeatedly exposed herself to him. He, however, doesn't want to use that as an excuse.
The former "7th Heaven" star also apologized to his victims, saying, "They were terrible and they regret them deeply."
