‘7th Heaven’ Actor Stephen Collins Reportedly Admits to Molestation Charges

I have absolute zero tolerance for abuse, but this still makes me feel like someone punched me in the stomach. News broke today that the actor who played the dad and pastor on the show '7th Heaven' is being investigated for the molestation of little girls.

I was a huge '7th Heaven' fan. It was the longest running show on the WB with the series premiering in 1996 and running until 2007.  The show took us on a journey as we followed the story of the Camdens, a pastor's family living in the fictional town of Glen Oak, California. What I loved most about the show was that each episode dealt with a moral lesson or controversial theme that was relatable and that the family had to handle either directly or indirectly. Each storyline focused on topics such as alcoholism, bullying, drug abuse, homelessness, racism, spousal abuse, teenage pregnancy among others.

Stephen Collins is the actor who played the dad and pastor on '7th Heaven' and reports say that he made the admission to touching and exposing himself to young girls sometime in 2012, when he and ex wife were in the middle of a messy and drawn out divorce. The couple had gone to a therapist to work through their issues after Collins wrote a "disclosure" admitting the exposures, and his ex wife taped the admission. In California, it is completely legal to record a conversation in secret in order to gather evidence against a violent felony.

Sources say the NYPD is in possession of the tape and is investigating Collins for "inappropriate sexual contact with minors." They say there are at least three victims.

I know that television is fake, but it's still sad to look at someone who played such a wholesome character only to realize they are anything but wholesome in real life. So incredibly sad for the victims.