14 DAY TRIAL // Actor Stephen Collins has been in hiding since an audio recording on which he admits to molesting 3 minor girls has emerged online. However, keeping a low profile isn’t helping him in any way in terms of having the scandal die down.
TMZ obtained an email sent by Collins’ estranged wife Faye Grant, to Collins himself, in which she accuses him of using his “7th Heaven” fame to ingratiate himself to parents, so that he could molest their daughters.
The new claim is shocking, but a source close to the actor insists it’s just another smear attempt on Grant’s part.
Nasty divorce brought details of Collins’ secret life to light
Faye Grant and Collins have been going through a very bitter divorce since 2012, when she filed the papers after she found out that he had molested young girls. At the time, he agreed to go to see a therapist with his wife, and in one of these sessions, he came clean to her about it.
He said he had molested 3 young girls, aged 10 to 13, two from New York and one from Los Angeles. The LA situation was a very old one, and he even told Grant that he had apologized to his victim when she grew up.
Because Grant knew what was about to happen on the counseling session (he had admitted this to her in private first), she recorded the whole thing. She says she didn’t leak the audio to the press, insisting the only one whom she turned this to was a detective from the NYPD. In fact, she only recorded the session because she wanted proof for when she went to the authorities to report the crime she’d just found out about.
Court documents later revealed that she testified on this as well, as part of the divorce proceedings: she believed there were more than 3 victims and was convinced her soon-to-be-ex had mental issues that went beyond his pedophile tendencies. She described him as a sociopath who showed no remorse for what he’d done and who consequently refused all proposals for treatment.
Collins didn’t hesitate to use Reverend Camden persona to gain access into homes
Since this was made public knowledge, scandalous bits and pieces have continued to emerge in the press. The latest claims that Collins had no qualms about using his onscreen persona, the goody two-shoes Reverend Camden on the hit ABC series “7th Heaven” to introduce himself to the parents of his future victims.
Grant fired off the scathing email to her estranged husband last year, accusing him of doing this to at least 2 of his victims, in what she dubs a classic pedophile move. The celebrity publication doesn’t say if she names any names, or explains where she got this information from.
There is the implication Collins was still doing this in 2007, when the series ended, though he can be heard on the tape saying that he had long curbed his tendencies and that all cases occurred decades ago.
Collins’ defense is that he’s the victim of a witch hunt
Collins is yet to address the latest allegation / rumor on any of the official channels, but a source close to him tells TMZ that it’s nothing but his ex’s attempt of getting back at him by dragging his name through the mud.
“The notion that Stephen used his role on ‘7th Heaven’ for any improper purpose is completely false and just another example of Faye fabricating a story to gain an advantage in the divorce proceedings,” the insider tells the e-zine.
This has been his defense since the minute the audio leaked: instead of addressing its shocking content, his attorney told the media that Grant was out to get him and to ruin his reputation just so she could walk away with more money from the divorce.
By law, Grant is entitled to half of everything he owns, but Collins’ attorney claims she’s been sitting on the recording for the past couple of years, trying to use it as leverage in an extortion attempt. When she failed, she went and sold it to the media, to the highest bidder.
*Please note that discretion is recommended before proceeding to the audio, because its content is highly disturbing.
