Stephen Collins Case: LA County Sheriff Probes Sex Crime Claims
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Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department has joined authorities in New York and Los Angeles in investigating Stephen Collins for allegedly exposing himself to a minor about 30 years ago, ABC News has confirmed.
The 7th Heaven actor was being investigated already for other alleged past sexual-abuse claims. No charges have been filed in the cases.
An LASD spokesperson told ABC’s Los Angeles affiliate KABC that the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau is aware of one allegation in West Hollywood, California, and is working with detectives in New York.
“The allegation was first reported to the Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday, October 9, 2014, and was forwarded to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for investigation. The victim, who was 13 years old at the time of the incident, reported the event that occurred in the summer of 1983,” a release from the Sheriff’s Department reads.
The opening of these past claims started when audio purportedly of Collins, 67, was leaked and posted on TMZ on Oct. 7, where he allegedly confesses to the acts during a therapy session in 2012 with his now-estranged wife, Faye Grant.
On the audio, Collins appears to admit to revealing himself to girls as young as 10 and 11 years old.
Collins and Grant are involved in divorce proceedings that started in 2012. Grant previously told ABC News in a statement: “With regard to the divorce proceedings, I am seeking no more than that to which I am legally entitled under the laws of the State of California. The recording of Mr. Collins’ statements has not been part of family court proceedings or any negotiations related to that action at any time.”
Collins’ lawyer has neither confirmed nor denied the audiotape is of Collins.
Collins and Grant are scheduled to begin their divorce trial next month.
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