--- description: "I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret," Collins said title: Stephen Collins Confesses to Child Molestation in PEOPLE Interview image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ad218f2a00d04cb/69876f535f570f0d64b1444a/stephen-collins.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Collins Confesses to Child Molestation by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 2:18 PM CUT  Stephen Collins in Beverly Hills in 2010. Stephen Collins in Beverly Hills in 2010.Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 2:18 PM CUT Actor Stephen Collins has admitted to inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors in a statement to _People_. A recording of the 67-year-old _7th Heaven_ actor confessing to child molestation was released to TMZ and published in October. Collins recounts three victims from 1973 to 1994 and how “I have not had an impulse to act out in any such way” in the last 20 years. In his statement to _People_, Collins said, “Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since. 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.” Read more at [_People_](http://www.people.com/article/stephen-collins-sexual-abuse-confession-exclusive "undefined") _Read next:_ [_Stephen Collins Loses Another Role Amid Molestation Allegations_](http://time.com/3483040/stephen-collins-scandal-abc-child-abuse/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3637448/stephen-collins-sexual-abuse-people/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3637448/stephen-collins-sexual-abuse-people/"},"headline":"Stephen Collins Confesses to Child Molestation","datePublished":"2014-12-17T14:18:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:55:58.772Z","description":"\"I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret,\" Collins said","url":"https://time.com/3637448/stephen-collins-sexual-abuse-people/","keywords":["celebrities","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ad218f2a00d04cb/69876f535f570f0d64b1444a/stephen-collins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ad218f2a00d04cb/69876f535f570f0d64b1444a/stephen-collins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stephen Collins","caption":"Stephen Collins in Beverly Hills in 2010.","creditText":"Frederick M. Brown—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3637448/stephen-collins-sexual-abuse-people/","name":"Stephen Collins Confesses to Child Molestation"}}]}] ```