ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico: Facing charges of child sex abuse, Emmy award-winning actor Timothy Busfield was ordered held without bond at his first court appearance on January 14.
Busfield appeared remotely via a video link from jail, a day after turning himself in to face charges of child sex abuse stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of a TV series he was directing in New Mexico.
He was booked a day earlier, and whether he remains in jail will be decided after a detention hearing within five business days.
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield's arrest last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint says the alleged acts happened on the set of the TV series "The Cleaning Lady," which was filmed in the city.
Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert and has appeared in "The West Wing," "Field of Dreams," and "Thirtysomething," has said he will fight the charges. In a video posted before he turned himself in, he denied the allegations.
At a brief court appearance, Busfield stood quietly in an orange jail uniform while his defense attorney spoke for him.
Prosecutors are asking that Busfield remain in custody while awaiting trial. In a motion filed Jan. 14, they cited what they described as a long pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority, and grooming behavior over two decades. They said some witnesses fear retaliation or harm to their careers.
Defense attorney Larry Stein said Busfield recently took an independent polygraph test and passed it, showing no deception.
New Mexico is one of the few states that allows polygraph results in criminal cases, said Loyola Law School professor and former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson, though a judge must decide whether the results can be admitted, and strict rules apply.
According to the complaint, a police investigator said one child reported that Busfield touched him over his clothes on private areas several times when he was 7, and again when he was 8.
The complaint states that the child was afraid to report it because Busfield was the director and feared he would get angry.
The child's twin brother told authorities that Busfield also touched him, but did not give details. He said he stayed quiet because he did not want to get in trouble.
The twins' mother told Child Protective Services that the abuse happened between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
In a police interview last fall, Busfield denied the allegations and suggested the boys' mother was seeking revenge after her children were removed from the show. His attorney repeated that claim this week.
The investigation began in November 2024 after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital contacted authorities. The parents had taken the boys there after being advised by a law firm, the complaint said.
Busfield's attorney also said an independent Warner Bros. investigation did not confirm the allegations, but prosecutors argued that the investigator failed to interview key witnesses.
