Stephen Collins, the disgraced actor who portrayed Eric Camden on 7th Heaven, was photographed for the first time in five years. Collins has stayed out of the spotlight after admitting to sexually abusing three minors. In 2014, he shared a statement with People, saying, "Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret."
The statement came a couple of months after a recording of a 2012 therapy session in which he confessed to sexual misconduct was leaked, People reported.
Collins, 76, reportedly now lives in Iowa and was spotted running errands near his home on Monday, April 28, according to The U.S. Sun.
Prior to this, Collins hadn't been photographed since 2019.
In 2019, the Daily Mail reported that Collins married Jenny Nagel, 32, who was reportedly a big fan of the disgraced actor when he was on 7th Heaven.
The outlet also reported that Collins and Nagel attended meditation sessions on a regular basis, and shared photos of them having breakfast with friends.
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Though Collins admitted to sexual misconduct, he was not prosecuted due to the statute of limitations, reported CNN. The sexual abuse occurred from 1973 to 1994, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and one victim went to police in 2012 to report that Collins had sexually assaulted her when she was 14.
After the sexual misconduct allegations came to light, Collins was fired from various acting roles and networks pulled reruns of 7th Heaven temporarily, according to THR.
Recent photos show Collins getting gas and going to the grocery store. The U.S. Sun reported that he wore a hat, avoided others, looked down while running errands, and seemed "anxious."
The outlet noted that he bought a house in Iowa in 2017. In 2014, in conversation with Katie Couric, Collins said that he is “absolutely not" a pedophile even though he admitted to sexual misconduct involving minors.
At the time of one of the incidents that Collins admitted to, he was 25 years old and the girl was 10 years old, reported ABC. He admitted to exposing himself to the girl two times in 1973.
In the statement shared with People in 2014, Collins alleged that "the publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred."
When speaking with Katie Couric that same year, he described one of the times that he sexually abused a young girl. He said, “I knew that something unthinkably wrong had just happened that I couldn't take back."
At the time, he claimed that he had not engaged in sexual misconduct since 1994.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
