Actor and director Timothy Busfield is vehemently denying felony charges that he sexually abused two child actors on the New Mexico set of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady. The Emmy winner, known for The West Wing and Field of Dreams, faces four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor after a grand jury indictment in February 2026.
The 68-year-old has maintained his innocence since his arrest in January, calling the accusations “lies” and vowing to fight them in court. His legal team points to police interviews where the boys initially denied any inappropriate touching and a studio investigation that found no corroborating evidence.
Prosecutors allege Busfield had inappropriate sexual contact with a child actor on the set of The Cleaning Lady, a crime drama filmed in Albuquerque. According to court documents, the alleged incidents occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, when the child was 7 and 8 years old.
A second child, the alleged victim’s twin brother, also told authorities he was touched by Busfield but didn’t specify where. The children worked on the show alongside each other.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the February indictment on social media, stating the case “will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial”.
Busfield’s defense team has mounted an aggressive challenge. Attorney Larry Stein calls the charges “completely false” and argues the case stems from revenge after the children were terminated from the series.
“The claims being made against Tim are completely false, and we will fight this to the end until the truth prevails,” Stein said in January. In February, he added that a detention hearing already “exposed fatal weaknesses in the state’s evidence, gaps that no amount of charging decisions can cure”.
Key defense points include:
Police Audio: Recordings obtained and published by the New York Post show both boys initially denying to police that Busfield touched them inappropriately. “No, he’s never touched me,” one boy says. Busfield’s attorneys call this an “unequivocal denial” of the allegations.
Studio Investigation: Warner Bros. conducted its own probe and found no “corroborating evidence that Mr. Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone” with the boys, according to Stein.
Polygraph Test: Busfield voluntarily took and passed a polygraph examination regarding the allegations.
Character Witnesses: More than 70 letters from people vouching for Busfield’s character were submitted to the court, including a heartfelt plea from his wife, actress Melissa Gilbert.
Gilbert, best known for Little House on the Prairie, has stood firmly by her husband. In a letter to the judge, she called Busfield “my love, my rock, my partner in business and life” and described him as having the “strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known”.
“On every single set where Tim is working, I have had multiple people tell me he is their favorite director ever,” she wrote. “He is my favorite”.
Her publicist confirmed Gilbert supports her husband but will not speak publicly while the legal process unfolds.
Prosecutors argue the evidence against Busfield is strong and specific. Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch cited medical findings, statements from the boys’ therapist, and what she described as grooming behavior.
Court documents also include a new accusation from a 16-year-old girl who allegedly told authorities Busfield kissed and groped her several years ago at the B-Street Theatre in Sacramento, which Busfield co-founded. The girl’s father said Busfield “begged the family to not report to law enforcement” and agreed to attend therapy.
Prosecutors also note Busfield was previously accused of sexual assault by two women in the 1990s and in 2012, pointing to what they call a “documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior”.
Busfield turned himself in to Albuquerque police in January after a warrant was issued. He was initially held without bond but released on his own recognizance on January 20 after a judge ruled prosecutors failed to prove the public wouldn’t be safe.
Judge David Murphy ordered Busfield not to discuss the case with witnesses or have contact with any minor children involved. Busfield must appear at all future court dates.
No trial date has been set. The indictment allows the case to proceed toward trial without a preliminary hearing on evidence.
