Out & About: Disgraced '7th Heaven' Star Stephen Collins Breaks Cover After 5 Years Under the Radar
The reclusive star was spotted out and about in his home state of Iowa.
Scandal-plagued 7th Heaven actor Stephen Collins was photographed for the first time in five years, breaking cover in Iowa long after he stepped out of the public eye.
RadarOnline.com has learned the former TV star was spotted behind the wheel of his car before visiting a local gas station, sporting a long sleeve, jeans, a baseball cap and glasses.
The former TV star was spotted behind the wheel of his car before visiting a local gas station, sporting a long sleeve, jeans, a baseball cap and glasses.
Collins was photographed at the pump and wiping down his windshield before heading out in the photos obtained by The New York Post.
The Des Moines-born actor fell from grace following a starring role on the WB series as Reverend Eric Camden for 11 seasons on 7th Heaven from 1996 to 2007.
His life unraveled after admitting to the sexual abuse of three minor girls.
Collins was photographed at the pump and wiping down his windshield before heading out.
Collins was never criminally charged but his marriage to actress Faye Grant was strained by the shocking truth coming to light and the former couple separated in 2012 before divorcing in 2015.
In 2014, the disgraced star explained how there were three victims from 1973 to 1994, and said "I have not had an impulse to act out in any such way" in the last 20 years.
He spoke out after a recording of him confessing to child molestation was released to TMZ.
"Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since," Collins shared in a statement. "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."
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The Des Moines-born actor fell from grace following a starring role on the WB series as Reverend Eric Camden for 11 seasons on '7th Heaven' from 1996 to 2007.
He stated that session was recorded "without the therapist's or my knowledge or consent."
April, one of the three underage girls who is now an adult, previously told Daily Mail that she felt compelled to speak her truth in 2015, adding, "I'm standing up for myself."
She alleged that Collins, then 35, exposed himself not once, but three separate times.
Collins, for his part, said that he had spoken with one of the women in a 2014 interview.
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"I did have an opportunity to [contact] one of the women, 15 years later. I apologized and she was extraordinarily gracious," said Collins.
"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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