Inside the ‘7th Heaven’ molestation scandal
Four4Four: Stephen Collins accused of exposing self to children and more
Stephen Collins, who played a father of seven kids and a pastor on the family-friendly series "7th Heaven," has reportedly been caught on tape admitting he molested three young girls.
Collins' lawyer told TMZ the actor's estranged wife Faye Grant had previously attempted to use the tape to blackmail her husband.
"Over the course of my representation of Stephen in the divorce case, Faye has repeatedly threatened to give this audiotape to the media unless Stephen agreed to pay her millions of dollars more than that to which she was legally entitled," Collins' lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told TMZ.
Kaplan claims when Grant's extortion attempts were ignored, she tried to find other interested parties to give the tape to.
"When these demands were rebuffed, Faye attempted -- without success -- to peddle the tape in numerous ways to numerous different people. It appears that she has finally found an audience for this tape -- not surprisingly, on the eve of the trial in the divorce case where, again, she is seeking millions of dollars more than that to which she is legally entitled."
Kaplan told TMZ he was unable to comment on the tape itself as "the circumstances dictate that we must regrettably refrain from doing so at this time."
MORE: Click here to listen to the disturbing tape
Grant denied turning the tape over to the media Tuesday telling E! News, "I woke up today to learn that an extremely private recording I handed over to the authorities in 2012 per their request in connection with a criminal investigation was recently disseminated to the press. I had no involvement whatsoever with the release of the tape to the media."
Collins' agent declined FOX411's request for comment. Kaplan did not return FOX411's request for further comment.
In another development, LAPD officers were reportedly called to Collins' San Fernando Valley home Tuesday night after someone claimed to hear gunshots.
One of Collins' neighbors, former "Baywatch" actress Donna D'Errico, tweeted a photo of several LAPD units and wrote in a later deleted tweet that Collins shot himself.
TMZ reports the actor was not home at the time of the alleged incident.
"7th Heaven" originally ran 1996 to 2007. A rep for TV Guide Network told TMZ it has cancelled all syndicated episodes of the show from airing.
FOX411's Leora Arnowitz contributed to this report.
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