Actor Timothy Busfield Indicted On Child Sex Abuse Charges

Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted by a grand jury on Friday on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child.

The celeb pleaded not guilty on all counts. His lawyer, Stanton “Larry” Stein, said the indictment was expected but still disappointing.

“As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” the attorney said in a statement. “What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial. The detention hearing exposed fatal weaknesses in the State’s evidence — gaps that no amount of charging decisions can cure.”

“This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law. Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors,” he added.

Busfield stands accused of sexually assaulting twin boys beginning when they were 7 years old. The actor worked with the child actors, born in 2014, on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” which aired on Fox from 2022 to 2025. Busfield directed some episodes and was named an executive producer.

An investigation began in November 2024 when a University of New Mexico Hospital doctor reported his suspicions of sexual abuse and grooming to authorities. Investigators initially didn’t press charges, but the case was reopened in September 2025 when one of the boys reported the alleged abuse to his doctor.

The actor faced two previous sexual assault allegations in 1994 and 2012, but was never charged. Busfield recorded a video of himself professing his innocence just before turning himself in to the police last month.

His wife, actress Melissa Gilbert of “Little House on the Prairie” fame, released a statement in late January thanking fans for their “love, patience, and support” as she and her husband went through this “extraordinarily difficult time.”

“As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement shared on social media. “This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial.”