Stephen Collins under investigation by NYPD in alleged molestation case

Actor Stephen Collins, who played pastor and father-of-seven Eric Camden on the TV drama "7th Heaven," says in a 2012 audio recording that he had molested or exposed himself to three underage girls years before.

TMZ.com posted the recording Tuesday, which the site said was surreptitiously but legally recorded by his estranged wife, actress Faye Grant, during a therapy session. At one point, Collins says he molested an 11-year-old relative of his first wife, writer Marjorie Weinman, as well as exposed himself to the New York girl "a couple of times" over the next two years.

He additionally mentions a Los Angeles girl to whom he apologized years later, as well as another New York girl.

New York Police Dept. public-information officer Kim Y. Royster told Us Weekly that "there is a formal complaint on file and the incident is being investigated by the Manhattan Special Victims Squad." TMZ said NYPD detectives flew to Los Angeles on Oct. 1 to interview Grant.

Collins' attorney did not respond to a Newsday request for comment.

Grant, 57, best known as the evil alien leader in the two 1980s "V" miniseries and subsequent series, told E! News Tuesday in a statement, "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, 67, resigned Tuesday from the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild and was fired from Seth MacFarlane's film "Ted 2," The Hollywood Reporter said. The family-friendly cable network Up has dropped "7th Heaven" reruns from its programming, CEO Charley Humbard said in a statement.

Collins and Grant married in April 1985 and have a daughter, Kate. He filed for divorce in May 2012.