The 7th Heaven actor stands accused of molesting underage girls – which his ex-wife discovered while they were still married

He played a reverend and devoted dad for 10 years on TV’s 7th Heaven and in real life served as a eucharistic minister in his free time, but now Stephen Collins stands accused of having had “inappropriate sexual contact” with underaged girls.

On Tuesday, TMZ posted audio that Collins’s ex-wife, Faye Grant, 57, secretly recorded during a therapy session. On the tape posted by TMZ, Collins, 67, allegedly admits he molested three minors.

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In a statement, Grant says she had nothing to do with its release.

“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,” Grant said. “I had no involvement whatsoever with the release of the tape to the media.”

According to court documents filed in November 2013, Grant first discovered Collins’s disturbing secret in 2012, while the two were still married.

“On January 19, 2012, I learned for the first time that Stephen had been living a secret life,” she declared in the official documents, obtained by PEOPLE. “In the presence of his therapist, Stephen admitted that he had engaged in a long term pattern of sexually abusing minor children, including sexually molesting three young girls over a decade ago.” She goes on to say that she believes Collins has “narcissistic personality disorder with sociopathic tendencies.”

The couple, who first met on the set of the 1982 pilot Tales of the Gold Monkey, wed in April 1985 and were married for 27 years until 2012, when Collins filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Grant told E! News in May 2012 that she was blindsided by the divorce filing – even though they had been separated since February 2012.

“Stephen’s filing for divorce is a surprise. I am devastated,” she told E! News at the time. “I wish him the very best in whatever path he chooses to take. Twenty-seven years of marriage in Hollywood is the equivalent of 189 dog years. I was exhausted.”

At the same time, Collins released a statement portraying their split as perfectly amicable. “My wife and I are moving forward,” he said. “She has been my dearest friend and a loving mother. I know we’ll go through this process in a way that honors our family.” The two have one daughter, Kate Collins, now 25.

Attorneys for both Grant and Collins have not returned a request for comment.

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