Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - A judge has ordered that actor Timothy Busfield be released from jail as he awaits trial on child s£x abuse charges.
The order Tuesday, by state district court Judge David
Murphy during a detention hearing, is linked to accusations that Busfield
inappropriately touched a minor while working as a director on the set of the
series “The Cleaning Lady.”
The judge ordered that the defendant be released on his own
recognizance, pending trial. Busfield will be supervised upon release by a
pretrial service in Albuquerque, and can leave the state to live at home,
the judge said. Under the conditions of his release, Busfield cannot be in
possession of firearms or drugs and can't have contact with the alleged
victims.
Busfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor who is known for
appearances in "The West Wing," "Field of Dreams" and
"Thirtysomething," was ordered held without bond last week at his
first court appearance. Busfield called the allegations lies in a video shared
before he turned himself in.
At the hearing on Tuesday, Busfield was handcuffed and
dressed in an orange jail uniform in a New Mexico state district court, while
wife and actor Melissa Gilbert watched from the court gallery.
Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls in the 1970s to '80s TV
series "Little House on the Prairie," is on the list of potential
witnesses submitted ahead of the hearing.
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield's arrest
earlier this month on two counts of criminal s£xual contact of a minor and one
count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set
of the series "The Cleaning Lady."
According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with
the police department says the child reported Busfield touched him on private
areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another
time when he was 8.
The boy's twin brother told authorities he was also touched
by Busfield, but did not specify where. He said he didn't say anything
because he didn't want to get in trouble.
On Monday, Busfield's attorneys submitted two brief audio
recordings of initial police interviews in which the children say Busfield did
not touch them in private areas. The attorneys in a court filing argue that the
complaint characterizes the interviews as a failure to disclose abuse, but an
"unequivocal denial is materially different from a mere absence of
disclosure."
According to the criminal complaint, one of the boys
disclosed during a therapy session that he was inappropriately touched by the
show's director. Those records were obtained by police during the
investigation.
Arguing Tuesday for Busfield's continued detention,
Bernalillo County Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch called
evidence of abuse against Busfield strong and specific.
"The boys' allegation are supported by medical findings
and by their therapist," Brandenburg-Koch said. "Their accounts were
specific and not exaggerated."
She also described a documented pattern of sexual
misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior by Busfield over the past
three decades. Prosecutors also say witnesses have expressed fear regarding
retaliation and professional harm.
"GPS is not going to tell this court if he is around
children or talking to witnesses," Brandenburg-Koch said.
Busfield's attorneys have argued that the allegations
emerged only after the boys lost their role in the TV show, creating a
financial and retaliatory motive.
The filings detailed what the attorneys said was a history
of fraud by both the boys' father and mother. They cited an investigation by
Warner Bros. that found the allegations unfounded.
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