I just finished watching the story about Stephen Collins, the well-known actor, who was recently exposed as a child abuser on ABC's 20/20 news magazine program. If you are not familiar with this situation, Collins has been seen on many television shows and movies over the past 40 years. His most prominent role was that of a minster and father on the show 7th Heaven, where he played the part of Rev. Eric Camden for 7 years.
In real life, he was married for 29 years and has recently been going through an ugly divorce. His wife recorded conversations they had where Collins exposed three episodes of sexual child abuse. According to Collins in 1972, 1982 and 1994 the episodes of abuse occurred with 10, 13, 14 year old girls, respectively. In the first case he had inappropriate contact and in the other two he exposed himself.
What drives a person to abuse children, if what Collins is saying is true, so sporadically? We typically think of a child abuser as a chronic repeat offender. Watching the Collins interview, I felt he was telling the truth. If that is indeed the case, it shows that those who abuse children may do so infrequently and sometimes in very isolated ways.
Large gaps in time between episodes of child abuse are, in and of themselves, very concerning. Those large gaps in time make child abuse harder to identify. Of course, infrequent episodes of abuse are better than if they occur frequently but the Collins case illuminates another type of child abuser. This type uses gaps in time as camouflage, to cover up their offenses. In this case, after the first episode in 1972 it took another 10 years before the next episode in 1982 occurred and then taking another 12 years for the next time. Collins let his desires hide dormant and in the shadows for very long interludes. He claims since the last episode he has felt no desire to abuse again, but given his track record, who can place trust in that statement?
The Collins case represents a strong reminder that a pattern of child abuse does not always readily reveal itself whether due to gaps in time or other techniques used by abusers (i.e. such as "grooming" which I have written about before). Spotting child abuse is a difficult task to say the least. When child abuse happens in such an isolated way the challenge is only amplified. The message therefore is to be vigilant and keep child abuse top-of-mind at all times to protect our children.
Column Posted on Web Site February 1, 2015
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