{"id":522366,"date":"2026-01-17T08:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T08:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/522366\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T08:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T08:44:13","slug":"timothy-busfield-wants-out-of-jail-on-child-sex-abuse-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/522366\/","title":{"rendered":"Timothy Busfield Wants Out Of Jail On Child Sex Abuse Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWith strong support from the cast of thirtysomething<\/a> and others, Timothy Busfield<\/a> has come out forcefully tonight against the child sex abuse charges against him, as well as attempts by prosecutors to keep him behind bars. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe State\u2019s attempt to transform responsible self-surrender into aggravating conduct only underscores the absence of genuine evidence of dangerousness,\u201d declares an opposition filing just placed in the New Mexico courts seeking to blunt pre-trial efforts by prosecutors to keep the currently in custody Busfield imprisoned up to and during a trial on the felony claims.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Motion asks the Court to imprison a man based on a story that has already collapsed under independent scrutiny,\u201d the exhibit heavy document from Albuquerque attorneys Amber Fayerberg and Christopher Dodd says. \u201cThe State offers no reliable proof\u2014only allegations advanced by witnesses with documented histories of fraud and financial exploitation, contradicted by a comprehensive studio investigation, and refuted by witnesses and objective risk assessments. The Constitution does not allow liberty to be forfeited on such a foundation. The State\u2019s Motion should be denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawyers assert: \u201cFor all of these reasons\u2014the independent investigation that undermined the State\u2019s allegations at every turn, the affirmative findings of the polygraph and ABEL assessment, the overwhelming evidence of character and community support, and the absence of any reliable proof of dangerousness\u2014the State cannot meet its burden of clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably protect the community. The Constitution requires release under appropriate conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBusfield is looking at possibly a decade in state prison if found guilty on two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. <\/p>\n

\n\tWith at least one new claim emerging in the days after he was charged, the 68-year-old Busfield is accused of misconduct with two 2014-born brothers who were actors on episodes of the Albuquerque filmed\u00a0The Cleaning Lady<\/a> that the Emmy<\/a> winner directed.<\/p>\n

\n\tNot long after the U.S. Marshals were called in<\/a> last week, Busfield arrived in Albuquerque and turned himself in to authorities on January 13, five days\u00a0after an arrest warrant was issued for him<\/a>. Being held without bond at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center after being\u00a0arrested and booked<\/a>, Busfield appeared briefly in Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera\u2019s courtroom remotely on January 14<\/a>. The same day, as Deadline exclusively reported,<\/a> Busfield was dropped by his longtime agency Innovative Artists<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to taking swipes at the personal, professional and legal history (Father admitted to \u201cconspiracy to commit wire fraud\u201d and was disbarred) of the boys\u2019 parents, tonight\u2019s filing ahead of a pre-trial detention hearing next week contains a slew of letters from his wife Melissa Gilbert<\/a>, director Edward Zwick, and fellow actors extolling Busfield\u2019s virtues. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTimothy is my friend, so no doubt I\u2019m biased,\u201d says thirtysomething cast member Ken Olin in a letter included. \u201cBut I know him well, through many years and many changing life circumstances, and he has always been a man who cares about other people \u2013 old and young. And I know in the very bottom of my heart that Timothy would never do anything to cruelly exploit or harm anyone, let alone a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFellow thirtysomething cast mates Peter Horton and Patricia Wellig Olin offered similar sentiments. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs well, a January 15 clinical assessment of Busfield concludes: \u201cGiven Mr. Busfield did not have any static or dynamic risk factors identified through the assessment and psychometric tools, it is highly likely that he would abide by any supervision requirements placed on him, if he was released from custody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAlbuquerque \u2018s Metropolitan Detention Center, where Busfield is being held <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMetropolitan Detention Center Home \u2013 Bernalillo County\/Facebook<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite vehemently declaring his innocence<\/a> on January 13 and insisting \u201cI did not do anything to those little boys,\u201d Busfield did not enter a plea at that appearance. The actor, his lawyers (who have noted their client successfully passed a polygraph examination on the claims)\u00a0 and Bernalillo County DA Sam Bergman\u2019s office are all expected in District Court in person on January 20 for an early afternoon hearing on the pre-trial detention motion. <\/p>\n

\n\tDepending on how that goes, Busfield could walk out on bail or stew in a Land of Enchantment cell for months. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With strong support from the cast of thirtysomething and others, Timothy Busfield has come out forcefully tonight against…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":522367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[19056,51,232379,70270,50,226658,232380,232381,226454,52],"class_list":["post-522366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-emmy","tag-headlines","tag-innovative-artists","tag-melissa-gilbert","tag-news","tag-the-cleaning-lady","tag-the-west-wing","tag-thirtysomething","tag-timothy-busfield","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115909562491963067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}