Earlier this month TMZ obtained an audio recording of "7th Heaven" star Stephen Collins reportedly confessing to previous child molestation. However, it now appears that the actor will most likely not be prosecuted.
While the Los Angeles Police Department had previously opened an investigation around molestation allegations involving Collins in November, 2012, they soon after closed it having found "no verified victim." Upon the recent news of Collins' recorded confession to his wife Faye Grant, the LAPD has reopened the case and is working in tandem with the New York Police Department, along with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. Now, however, sources from all three law enforcement departments have told TMZ that the statute of limitations mean, in the site's words, "the cases will go nowhere."
The statute has run out on the Los Angeles case, in which Collins allegedly exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl in 1983. However, the NYPD is still investigating the New York incident from 1972 that involved a 14-year-old girl. “There is a formal complaint on file and the incident is being investigated by the Manhattan Special Victims Squad,” the NYPD said in a statement earlier this month.
According to Grant, who is in the middle of a divorce with Collins, there was another incident that occurred while the actor was shooting "7th Heaven" sometime between 1996 and 2007. That victim has yet to come forward. All three law enforcement departments have said they are "re-listening" to the recorded confession to see if they "missed anything" in the L.A.P.D.'s 2012 investigation.
Since the recording surfaced via TMZ, Collins has been dropped from the film "Ted 2," pulled from an upcoming "Scandal" episode, and resigned from the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild.
H/T TMZ