A child sex abuse indictment against actor Timothy Busfield has been dismissed after a judge determined that prosecutors committed misconduct during the grand jury process.
Busfield, 69, who is known for his roles in The West Wing and Thirtysomething, was told on Friday by a judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that he no longer faces four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor.
Second Judicial District Court Judge Joseph Montano ruled that prosecutors improperly prevented certain witnesses from appearing before the grand jury.
New Mexico prosecutors remain free to file new criminal charges against Busfield, though they have not indicated whether they plan to pursue the case again.
Busfield has repeatedly denied the accusations, describing them as revenge-driven lies.
The allegations stem from Busfield’s time directing the television series The Cleaning Lady from 2022 to 2024.
The parents of twin boys who were removed from the production alleged that Busfield touched the children inappropriately while they were working on the show’s set in Albuquerque.
According to a criminal complaint filed in January, an Albuquerque Police Department investigator said one of the boys reported that Busfield touched his private areas over his clothing. The boy alleged that it happened once when he was 7 and again when he was 8.
Child sex abuse charges against actor Timothy Busfield have been dismissed after a judge ruled that prosecutors engaged in misconduct.
Busfield has denied the allegations, saying he was targeted in a smear campaign by the boys’ parents after he removed them from the show. He is pictured at the Bernalillo County Courthouse in New Mexico on January 20.
Timothy Busfield is married to Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert.
Busfield surrendered to authorities in New Mexico on January 13 after the allegations surfaced. The charges have since been dismissed.
The boy’s twin brother also told authorities that Busfield had touched him, although he did not describe where. He said he had stayed silent because he feared getting into trouble, according to the criminal complaint.
Busfield turned himself in and was released from jail while awaiting trial. A judge previously found no pattern of criminal behavior or similar allegations involving children in his past.
A grand jury later indicted Busfield, alleging that he had “touched or applied force to the intimate parts” of one of the boys on multiple occasions.
The indictment allowed the criminal case to proceed without a preliminary evidentiary hearing.
CHECK THIS OUT: Woman Who Used Sunbeds to Chase the ‘Best Tan’ Dies of Cancer
Busfield’s attorneys said the children initially told police that he had not touched them inappropriately. They also alleged that the boys’ parents coached them into making incriminating statements after the twins lost their lucrative roles on the series.
In June, Busfield’s lawyers formally asked the court to throw out the indictment. Their motion argued that prosecutors had been “willfully blind to the lack of evidence” and had “invented procedural hurdles” that kept grand jurors from hearing testimony from additional witnesses.
During a September hearing, Busfield’s attorney Amanda Fayerberg played audio recordings in which grand jurors requested testimony from more witnesses.
Fayerberg argued that prosecutors had wrongly told the jurors subpoenas were required, even though the witnesses were “present, available and willing to testify.”
Busfield seen with his wife, Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert
Busfield was arrested in January. He is best known for his role as Danny Concannon in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing
Busfield, center, seen on the set of his hit show Thirtysomething
Busfield and Gilbert’s home in Highland Lake, New York, pictured shortly after his arrest
Gilbert has fiercely defended her husband, declaring her absolute trust in his innocence after he was indicted
‘The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct,’ Fayerberg said.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley countered that the defense hadn’t followed the correct process for submitting evidence to a grand jury and that Busfield himself improperly and ‘excessively’ tried to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses and exhibits during his three-hour testimony.
According to the transcripts of the proceedings submitted by Busfield´s attorneys, the Field of Dreams actor told jurors that the case had turned his life upside down and affected his entire family.
He testified that he had been ‘canceled,’ meaning he lost work and was fired by his agency.
Busfield also testified that he had nothing to hide and when asked about the allegations that he had caressed the children, he answered: ‘I’m saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever.’
Prosecutors had said each count in the indictment carried a possible penalty of six years in prison that could be enhanced.