Two cast members of 7th Heaven were left visibly spooked after hearing the extent of Stephen Collins’ sex abuse scandal in his own words, while one of his victims accused him of ‘downplaying’ the extent of his abuse in a bombshell new Investigation Discovery documentary.
Collins, 77, known for portraying lovable dad and pastor Eric Camden on the WB show, saw his career implode in 2014 after he admitted to inappropriate conduct with three underage girls years prior.
His past misconduct came to light in October of 2014, when TMZ published an audio from 2012 that saw him speaking abut inappropriately touching a minor in 1973, and exposing himself to two other underage girls in 1982 and 1994.
In the audio, which was reportedly recorded by his ex-wife Faye Grant during a therapy session, he could be heard telling his wife about one instance involving an 11-year-old girl, a relative of his first wife, who he said he’d exposed himself to ‘a couple of times’. ‘There was one moment of touching where her hand, I put her hand on my penis,’ he said. He then described two other instances with young girls, one involving another girl who was between 12 and 13 at the time.
During a taped sit-down with Katie Couric for 20/20 that month, he denied being a pedophile.
He was investigated by police but never charged with any crimes as the statute of limitations was up.
Collins’ scandal is now set to be put under the microscope in the first episode of ID’s new series, Hollywood Demons, which will premiere on March 24.
Disgraced 7th Heaven actor Stephen Collins’ child sex abuse scandal is set to be the subject of a bombshell new documentary. He is pictured in 2014
His former costar Jeremy London appeared visibly stressed listening to Collins’ admissions in a segment of the new ID show
During the episode, Collins’ 7th Heaven costars Kyle Searles and Jeremy London listened to his admission.
Kyle, 39, played Mac in the acclaimed series for 27 episodes between 2004 and 2007.
He was visibly sickened while responding to Collins’ interview as he exclaimed: ‘I had no idea the first one was 10 [years old]. All three are wrong, don’t get me wrong… I’m kind of shaking right now.’
Kyle grimaced as he continued: ‘This is the first time that I’ve ever thought that he’s full of s**t. No, I am not satisfied with this. I have a knot in my stomach.
‘My whole world changed when I had kids of my own. My whole world view and certainly my tolerance for this.
‘I think that goes without being said, but you know what I mean. I just think that I put him up on a professional pedestal a bit too much.’
Fellow costar Jeremy, who played Chandler Hampton, was also left heartbroken after hearing Collins’ admission for the first time.
‘It’s tough, it’s hard,’ he eventually managed.
Fellow cast member Kyle Searls said he had a knot in his stomach listening to Collins speak
Collins, 77, known for portraying Eric Camden on the WB show (seen in 1997 with the cast), saw his career implode in 2014 after he admitted to inappropriate conduct with three underage girls
‘I’m a dad first and foremost, above everything else. So, my first thought goes to the children. Stephen Collins would be a dead man if that was my child.’
During the episode, Collins’ second victim April Price also spoke out, and accused Collins’ of ‘downplaying’ what happened between them in his ABC 2020 interview.
During his chat with ABC 2020, Collins said of his interaction with April: ‘The look on the one in 1982 was such [that] it immediately just stopped everything cold.’
But speaking for herself in the documentary, April fiercely refuted his claims.
‘That’s not what happened,’ she said. ‘The way that he portrayed it, that it only happened once, sent me into a fury.
‘He’s trying to save his career and he’s downplaying it but on the other hand is the person that it happened to. I was enraged.’
April said she was 13 during her interaction with Collins.
She recalled one time when she had asked him to hook up her games controller to her aunt’s television.
‘He’s in the living room in my aunt’s apartment, hooking up that Atari and he turned around and his jeans were completely open and he’s completely exposed,’ she said.
‘At this point, now I’m completely flustered. How do you react to that? What’s the purpose of this?
During an interview with 2020, Collins he said that while his actions were ‘terrible,’ he does not fit the definition of a pedophile. He’s pictured 1996 with Catherine Hicks on 7th Heaven
Victim April Price (seen) later claimed that Collins exposed himself in front of her on two separate occasions when she was a teen
New six part Investigation Discovery documentary series, Hollywood Demons’ premiere episode, Stephen Collins: America’s Dad, will re-tell the story and premiere on March 24
‘All I know is that I was shocked, extremely uncomfortable, and still didn’t want to insult him because he was kind to me and nice and doing me a favor.
‘I’m trying to look him in the face and have a conversation with him as if nothing was going on. He chit chatted for a little bit and then left.’
She claimed the second instance happened days before she was due to head back home to Oklahoma.
She had been sunbathing in her swimsuit when Collins allegedly approached her and asked if she wanted to see some of his Tales of the Gold Monkey memorabilia inside his apartment.
Remembering the instance, she alleged: ‘The memorabilia is on the top of this credenza.
‘Am standing there looking at it and he goes, “Do you mind if I go and get more comfortable?”
‘So I’m looking at this stuff, and he comes walking back from the bedroom completely nude and my stomach just fell.
‘Now I’m actually scared. I’m in this man’s apartment. I’m in a bathing suit and he’s naked. This is bad, this is really bad. I don’t know what I’m going to do.’
April claimed that the entire instance lasted for about 20 minutes until she noticed her aunt through the window coming back from work.
‘I was completely helpless and defenseless in his apartment,’ she added.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Collins for comment.
