Stephen Collins' Lawyer Accuses Actor's Wife of Extortion

Stephen Collins' lawyer claims Collins' estranged wife Faye Grant has been using the 7th Heaven actor's alleged child molestation confession tape to extort money out of him "for years," TMZ reports.

"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," attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan tells TMZ. The couple are in the middle of a divorce.

The recording, which was released by TMZ on Tuesday, contains a man believed to be Collins admitting that he molested at least three young girls over several years. The tape was made during a therapy session Collins and Grant attended in 2012, and is currently in the possession of the New York Police Department, which is handling the investigation.

Kaplan declined to comment on the tape. "Though we would like to address the tape itself, the circumstances dictate that we must regrettably refrain from doing so at this time," he tells TMZ.

7th Heaven star Stephen Collins under investigation for child molestation

Grant denies that she had anything to do with the tape leaking. "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 in a statement to People. "I had no involvement whatsoever with the release of the tape to the media."

In court documents filed in November, Grant claims she discovered Collins' "secret life" and alleged history of sexual abuse in January 2012, according to People. The couple separated in February 2012 and Collins filed for divorce that May.

In the wake of the tape going public, Collins has been dropped from the upcoming movieTed 2, and networks including UP and TVGN have pulled 7th Heaven reruns from their schedules. Collins also resigned from his position on the board of SAG-AFTRA. He has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.

Late Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Police Department went to Collins' home after neighbors reported hearing a gunshot, but police reported that Collins was safe and was not even home at the time of the incident, according to People.