Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield appeared in court Tuesday for a hearing to determine whether he will remain in a New Mexico jail or be released pending trial on child sex abuse charges.
Busfield, 68, turned himself in last week after he was charged with one count of child abuse and two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said Jan. 13 on Facebook. He said then that his office would seek to have Busfield detained pending the case.
The actor appeared for Tuesday’s detention hearing shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Bernalillo County Deputy District Savannah Brandenburg-Koch argued that Busfield was dangerous and there were no conditions of release that could secure the community’s safety.
According to a criminal complaint, the charges stem from allegations from the parents of two boys who appeared on “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series in which Busfield acted and directed. The parents accused the actor of allegedly touching the children on multiple occasions on the set of the Fox series, and the boys reported that he had touched them on their intimate parts.
The actor has rejected the allegations.
The boys made the disclosures to a therapist and a doctor, Brandenburg-Koch said. She described the disclosures as specific, detailed and “not exaggerated.”
“There’s a pattern of his conduct,” she said.
The prosecutor cited past allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual assault made against Busfield by other women and a teenager. Those allegations did not result in criminal charges.
Defense lawyer Chris Dodd said he had significant concerns that the prosecutor was acting as if his client had already been convicted.
“My client is presumed innocent,” he said. “He is an innocent man.”
In Busfield’s supplemental pretrial detention hearing exhibit list submitted Monday, the defense included an affidavit of a woman who worked on set, who said she never saw Busfield be inappropriate while filming. The defense also included audio recordings of the children’s interviews with Albuquerque police in which they allegedly deny that he ever inappropriately touched them.
Busfield told investigators in an interview that another actor on the show told him the boys’ mother was upset with him because her children were not brought back for the show’s final season. Busfield alleged that the mother wanted revenge, according to a transcript of the interview.
According to the complaint, one of the boys told police that the first time Busfield touched him was when he was 7 years old and the second time was when he was 8. The complaint says the abuse is alleged to have happened between November 2022 and spring 2024.
Warner Bros. commissioned a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the complaints, but the firm found no evidence to corroborate the claims. The claims included allegations that Busfield kissed a child on the face as he was getting a haircut in the hair and makeup trailer.
Christina McGovern, the investigator from Solomon Law who led the Warner Bros. probe, said in a statement that, based on the evidence gathered, she found no evidence that he “engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone” with the boys on set.
Brandenburg-Koch said that investigation did not include “necessary witnesses” and was not reliable.
“The Cleaning Lady” ended last year after four seasons. Busfield is also known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Thirtysomething” and “Field of Dreams.” He was set to appear in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film “You Deserve Each Other,” but will be removed via editing, a source close to the production told NBC News.
Busfield also faces an allegation of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl in California. He has not been criminally charged in connection with that allegation. The girl’s father alleged that Busfield kissed the teen and touched her intimate parts “several years ago,” according to a court filing seeking Busfield’s detainment. Busfield “begged the family” to hold off on reporting the alleged incident if he got therapy, the filing stated.
In a copy of Busfield’s supplemental pretrial detention hearing exhibit list, a man who claims to know the teen and her father provided statements that “contradict the narrative advanced by that witness.”
Busfield’s wife, actor Melissa Gilbert, attended Tuesday’s detention hearing after submitting a letter of support saying her husband “has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known.”
“He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others. He starts every day with kindness and compassion,” she said.
Minyvonne Burke
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
Chloe Melas
Chloe Melas is an entertainment correspondent for NBC News.
Tim Stelloh
Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Alexandra Detwiler and Meriam Bouarrouj contributed.
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