A New Mexico judge on Wednesday ordered actor Timothy Busfield to remain detained for now, as the child sex abuse case against him proceeds.
Busfield did not enter a plea at Wednesday’s court hearing.
He will remain detained without bond pending a hearing that will take place within five business days, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera said.
Busfield has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child sex abuse. Two boys told Albuquerque police that they were inappropriately touched by Busfield, according to a criminal complaint.
Earlier Wednesday, in a filing seeking Busfield’s detainment, prosecutors detailed a new allegation of the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl in California years ago. Busfield has not been criminally charged in that allegation.
In the seven-page filing, New Mexico prosecutors said law enforcement officers received a report Tuesday from the alleged victim’s father, who stated that Busfield kissed his 16-year-old daughter and touched her intimate parts “several years ago.”
The actor “begged the family” to hold off on reporting the alleged misconduct if he received therapy, according to the prosecutors’ document. He has not been charged in relation to the allegation detailed in the filing.
Busfield’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the claims in the prosecutors’ filing.
Busfield turned himself in to Albuquerque authorities Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque that afternoon according to online records.
Two boys allege Busfield touched them inappropriately on the Albuquerque set of the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady.” The boys’ parents said he allegedly did so on multiple occasions; one of the boys said he was touched on his intimate parts over his clothing, according to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month.
The boys are identified by their initials in the 12-page complaint.
The criminal complaint said one of the boys told police that Busfield first touched him inappropriately when he was 7 years old and again when he was 8 years old. The abuse allegedly took place between November 2022 and spring 2024, according to the document.
In a November interview with investigators detailed in the complaint, Busfield said an actor on “The Cleaning Lady” had told him the boys’ mother was upset because the children were not asked to return for the show’s final season, leading her to allegedly seek revenge.
The actor he mentioned did not speak to investigators, according to the complaint.
Busfield also told authorities that he likely would have picked up and tickled the boys, describing the set as a playful environment, according to the document.
Warner Bros., the studio that co-produced the series, commissioned a law firm to carry out an independent investigation into complaints made against Busfield, but that review did not find any evidence to corroborate the allegations.
“Based on what was alleged, and all evidence gathered, including multiple witness statements, I found no corroborating evidence that Mr. Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone” with the accusers on set, said Christina McGovern of Solomon Law.
Busfield is best known for playing a reporter on NBC’s “The West Wing” and an advertising executive on ABC’s “Thirtysomething.” The latter won him an Emmy. He is married to “Little House on the Prairie” actor Melissa Gilbert, a former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
“Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time,” Gilbert’s representative, Ame Van Iden, said in a statement Tuesday, adding that she will not make other public comments at this time at the request of Busfield’s lawyers.
Chloe Melas and Austin Mullen contributed.