Timothy Busfield was formally charged with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child after a New Mexico grand jury indicted the former West Wing actor Friday.
The 68-year-old was arrested last month on the accusations related to twin child actors he worked with on the Fox television series The Cleaning Lady. Busfield was released from custody on Jan. 20 following his self-surrender to Albuquerque law enforcement the week prior. Busfield has adamantly denied the claims, calling them “horrible lies.”
The accusations stem from Busfield’s work on the drama series, where the Hollywood veteran served as an executive producer and frequent director. While on set, Busfield allegedly had inappropriate contact with twin boys on the show, which included unwanted tickling. Later, one of the children claimed Busfield began touching his private areas over his clothes between takes.
The four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child correspond to Busfield’s alleged conduct with only one of the boys, according to the two-page indictment obtained by Rolling Stone. The counts appear to relate to two separate incidents, one that occurred between October 19, 2022 and September 10, 2023, and a second that occurred between September 11, 2023 and May 30, 2024.
In a statement provided to Rolling Stone, a civil attorney for Busfield said the indictment was “not unexpected” and maintained that Busfield plans to aggressively fight the charges. “As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” Stanton “Larry” Stein said. “This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law. Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors.”
“As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement. “This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial.”
Albuquerque officials launched an investigation into Busfield in November 2024 over concerns that the child actors were possibly “groomed” by the director. The investigation resumed late last year when one of the children made claims of sexual contact to his therapist.
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Busfield’s attorneys have suggested the boys’ parents led their sons to make “manufactured allegations” against Busfield as revenge for replacing their sons on the show with a younger actor. Calling the parents “con artists,” Busfield defense attorney Amber Fayerberg said at last month’s detention hearing “there’s not a universe that [prosecutors] could prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt — it’s impossible.”
As part of their early submissions to the court, Busfield’s lawyers noted that a Warner Bros. independent investigation was unable to substantiate the boys’ claims and submitted 87 letters of support from Busfield’s family and loved ones. They also submitted an adult psychosexual evaluation that noted Busfield “does not appear to have a sexual attraction to prepubescent or adolescent males or females.”
Judge David Murphy considered the submission when granting Busfield’s release, acknowledging that “given the lack of a pattern involving children” and the state failing to prove Busfield was an imminent danger to the community, he should be freed pending trial.
From Rolling Stone US
