Timothy Busfield, husband of actress Melissa Gilbert, turns himself in for child sex abuse charges

NEW MEXICO – American actor-director Timothy Busfield made his first court appearance on Jan 14 in New Mexico on child sex abuse charges.

Reuters reported that Busfield, 68, will continue to be jailed without bond pending a hearing that will take place in the next five business days, the judge said via Zoom. The actor will have a preliminary hearing on Jan 29.

Busfield did not comment during the brief court appearance. He was not asked to enter a plea.

Busfield turned himself in to the authorities in New Mexico on Jan 13 and was booked on

charges of child sex abuse,

the Albuquerque police said. The case involves two boys who were appearing on a television drama that he was producing in New Mexico.

The warrant was signed on Jan 9 by a Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court judge in Albuquerque. It said he had been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse.

Mr Stanton Stein, a lawyer for Busfield, said his client had voluntarily appeared before the New Mexico authorities after travelling across the country “to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations”.

“He is innocent and is determined to clear his name,” Mr Stein added in a statement.

Mr Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, said earlier on Jan 13 that the department was working with federal marshals to take Busfield into custody because he was not in New Mexico.

A police affidavit said the offences took place in 2022. At that time, Busfield was an executive producer and actor on the crime drama The Cleaning Lady (2022 to 2025).

The police began investigating him in 2025 after a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where staff members requested a sexual-abuse investigation and said it appeared the boys were being groomed, the affidavit said.

Mr Stein said that after the woman’s son was terminated from the show, she had vowed to seek revenge against Busfield. “What followed appears to be a calculated effort to construct a case, driven by animus and not fact, despite prior investigations finding no evidence of wrongdoing,” Mr Stein said.

Warner Bros. Television, which produced the show, said in a statement on Jan 13 that the health safety of its cast and crew was always its top priority, “especially the safety of minors on our productions”.

“We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have processes in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate and take appropriate action,” the company said. “We are aware of the current charges against Mr Busfield and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement in a timely manner.”

Busfield won an Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a drama series for his work in ABC’s Thirtysomething, which aired for four years beginning in 1987. He also portrayed a journalist on political drama The West Wing (1999 to 2006).

He is married to American actress Melissa Gilbert, 61, a former child star best known for the series Little House On The Prairie (1974 to 1983). The couple do not have children together.

The affidavit said Busfield would invite the boys’ family to gatherings off the set, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to “foster closeness”.

Gilbert’s publicist said in a statement that Gilbert was honouring a request from her husband’s lawyers not to speak publicly about the case while it unfolds. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband, and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.” NYTIMES