In an allegedly soul-baring new essay to be released in this week's issue of People (on newsstands Friday), 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins will explain "in vivid detail" how he sexually abused three underage girls in the span of 40 years.

Collins will have a one-on-one with Katie Couric on Yahoo this Friday as well, and the interview will also air on this week's edition of 20/20 on ABC. A passage excerpted from Collins' statement in Friday's People:

Forty years ago, I did something terribly wrong that I deeply regret. I have been working to atone for it ever since. I've decided to address these issues publicly because two months ago, various news organizations published a recording made by my then-wife, Faye Grant, during a confidential marriage therapy session in January, 2012. This session was recorded without the therapist's or my knowledge or consent.

On the recording, I described events that took place 20, 32, and 40 years ago. The publication of the recording has resulted in assumptions and innuendos about what I did that go far beyond what actually occurred. As difficult as this is, I want people to know the truth.

The actor apparently spoke to one of his victims and apologized.

"I did have an opportunity to do so with one of the women, 15 years later. I apologized and she was extraordinarily gracious," Collins goes on. "But after I learned in the course of my treatment that my being direct about such matters could actually make things worse for them by opening old wounds, I have not approached the other two women, one of whom is now in her 50s and the other in her 30s."

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