The actor who played a minister father on TV show 7th Heaven has been caught on tape confessing to molesting and exposing himself to young girls.

TWITTER has lit up with reports that 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins committed suicide after an underage molestation charge, but police say it was a false alarm.

Neighbours of the actor including former Baywatch star Donna D’Errico took to social media to state that the actor had shot himself and the Los Angeles Police Department had sealed off his street.

But TMZ stated that officers responded to reports of a shooting - however the actor was not at his San Fernando Valley home. The site reported that Collins has been in contact with friends and he is fine.

That guy from 7th Heaven lives right around the corner from me & just shot himself a few minutes ago... — Donna D'Errico (@DonnaDErrico) October 8, 2014

That's all I know. The police have the street cordoned off and aren't even letting residents in.. — Donna D'Errico (@DonnaDErrico) October 8, 2014

Later, D’Errico appeared to try to distance herself from the initial reports:

All I know is what all my neighbors told me. Hoping it's a false alarm. It's a zoo out here. I'm going to bed. — Donna D'Errico (@DonnaDErrico) October 8, 2014

The actor who played the minister father on TV show 7th Heaven was reportedly caught on tape confessing to molesting an underage girl and exposing himself to two others.

TMZ has published audio of what appears to be Collins confessing during a therapy session with his estranged wife that he abused the girls, and giving graphic details.

Collins made the confession to his wife Faye Grant.

The entertainment industry is already responding to the shocking allegations. Collins has reportedly been sacked from the set of Ted 2 and Channel 10 says it will stop playing re-runs of 7th Heaven.

Collins and Grant are in the middle of divorcing, and the actor was unaware his wife was secretly recording the therapy session, reports TMZ.

Under California law, it is legal to secretly record people to gather evidence of a felony.

Collins allegedly first admitted the alleged offences to his wife in 2012, although the alleged incidents date back years.

In the tape, he mentions a “disclosure” and a “list”, which appears to reference a confession he previously made to his wife — which triggered the emergency therapy session.

On the tape, Collins confesses to abusing an 11-year-old girl who is a relative of his first wife, and admits exposing himself to her when she was 11, 12 and 13 years old.

He also mentions a girl who lived in their neighbourhood in Los Angeles, but says he tried to apologise to her years later.

He then mentions a third girl, who was aged around 12 or 13 at the time of alleged abuse. Two of the girls were from New York.

Divorce papers reveal Collins’ sociopathic tendancies:

E! News has obtained the 2012 divorce papers between 7th Heaven’s Stephen Collins and Faye Grant.

In the documents, Grant explains how in January of that year she “learned for the first time that Stephen had been engaging in a long term pattern of sexually molesting children.”

She added that Stephen “admitted that he had sexually molested three underage girls over a decade ago; at least two of the three girls were molested over the course of several years. At least one of the victims has filed a report with the New York City Special Victims Unit.”

From the paper obtained by E! News it has also been revealed that according to her declaration, Grant claims that her ex’s therapist had relayed the information to her and explained that he has “narcissistic personality disorder with sociopathic tendencies.”

“Obviously I am sickened by Stephen’s actions. I have spent the past 20 months coping with the trauma of learning about Stephen’s illness and worrying about my moral and legal responsibility,” Faye stated in the filings.

“I have urged Stephen multiple times to seek proper treatment for pedophilia. I am particularly afraid of what may happen if he does not seek treatment, because he may be working or interacting with children in connection with his employment.”

Grant also shared that in December 2012, she had received two letters from a man who identified himself as the husband of one of Stephen’s three victims.

She claimed that the man “berated me for my cowardice” for not turning her husband at the time into the authorities.

The man, according to Grant, also threatened to bring a civil lawsuit against her for Stephen’s actions.

As a precautionary measure at the time, Grant was “seeking to bifurcate the issue of Stephen’s liability, such that Stephen will be held solely liable for his sexual assaults and ordered to indemnify, pay and hold Faye harmless in the event that she is damage by his tortious and/or criminal conduct.”

TMZ reports that NYPD has the taped confession and last week flew two detectives to Los Angeles to interview Grant.

A police official reportedly told the gossip site that there is an active investigation into “inappropriate sexual contact with minors”, at least three victims.

Collins split from Grant in 2012, putting out a statement saying they would “go through this process in a way that honours our family.”

“My wife and I are moving forward separately in our lives. She has been my dearest friend and a loving mother.”

However, things since turned contentious, with a nasty divorce and now the secret recordings.

Last year, she asked the court for spousal support and half of their $6 million bank account, as well as half the value of two LA homes, reported TMZ at the time.

The entertainment industry reacts:

The 67-year-old has since been fired from the upcoming film Ted 2, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Sources said Collins had never officially announced his role, but rumours of his involvement in the Seth MacFarlane-directed movie were widely circulated.

Collins previously played Reverand Eric Camden on the squeaky-clean family drama 7th Heaven, which ran between 1996 and 2007.

Last month, he tweeted a reunion photo of himself with his former cast members, including Jessica Biel.

Channel Ten has axed the show 7th Heaven from its programming schedule after reports revealed its star Stephen Collins is being investigated for child molestation.

Re-runs of the series have been playing daily on the network’s affiliate station Channel 11, but a spokeswoman for Ten confirmed any further programs will be cancelled immediately.

Catherine Hicks, the TV wife of Collins in 7th Heaven has said Collins is a good guy and while working with him on the TV series she never saw anything untoward.

Collins has often worked with minors, including the cast of 7th Heaven and recent family drama The Fosters. He has also recently had parts in Revolution and Devious Maids