Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse in New Mexico
New Mexico authorities have charged Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, known for his roles in “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething,” with child sexual abuse.
A judge on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the 68-year-old actor, charging him with two counts of sexual intercourse with a minor and one count of child abuse. An arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by The Times on Sunday accuses Busfield of inappropriately touching two child actors who were siblings during his tenure on Fox’s crime drama “The Cleaning Lady.”
Busfield’s legal representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman did not immediately confirm whether Busfield was in custody.
Busfield, the actor, producer and director of “Cleaning Lady,” allegedly sexually assaulted one of the young actors multiple times during his tenure. According to testimony, a child actor said he first repeatedly touched Busfield’s “private parts” on set when he was 7 years old. The actress said that when she was 8 years old, Busfield touched her inappropriately again several times. “She was afraid to tell anyone because Tim was the Director and she was afraid Tim would be angry with her,” the affidavit said.
According to the complaint, the second child actor said Busfield “began touching them in the first two years” of her life in “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in Albuquerque. The investigator said neither child spoke to Busfield about their allegations out of fear or anxiety.
According to the complaint, the players’ mother alleged that Busfield sexually abused her children from November 2022 until the spring of 2024, reporting the alleged abuse to Child Protective Services in October 2025. Police began investigating the alleged abuse in November 2024 after receiving a request from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital.
The investigation also included interviews with child therapists and doctors, according to the affidavit. According to the complaint, one of the child actors who disclosed Busfield’s alleged abuse to her therapist had “bed-wetting issues, among other behavioral problems,” was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and had nightmares “about the director touching her.”
The investigator also spoke with several cast and crew members of “The Cleaning Lady,” which was canceled in 2013. After four seasons, June. The affidavit details the investigator’s interviews with production assistants, the studio teacher and Busfield.
Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, told investigators that “Cleaning Lady” producer Warner Bros. He said Television informed him of an investigation into complaints “from boys about him” in the spring of 2025. When asked if he had any physical contact with the two child actors, Busfield “said it was very likely,” the complaint said. He suggested to the investigator that the boys’ mother may have taken “revenge” on the director for “not bringing her children back for the final season,” according to the complaint.
Although Busfield confirmed the young actors’ identities to the investigator in his interview, he allegedly later said, “‘I don’t remember those kids,'” and “‘I don’t remember explicitly tickling the kids, but that’s not unusual for me.” ”
The complaint also details Warner Bros. Investigation into Busfield’s alleged conduct. The studio began investigating after receiving an anonymous tip from the SAG-AFTRA hotline in February 2025 regarding an incident that occurred in December 2024. Busfield allegedly walked into the hair and makeup trailer and “kissed an underage male on the face while he was getting a haircut.” The complaint also alleged “there are images of Mr. Busfield ‘ticking and caressing the head and body of underage boys.’ ”
Neither Fox nor Warner Bros. will be available on Sunday. responded immediately to a request for comment, but a spokesperson for Warner Bros. said: New York Times “He is aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and has cooperated with law enforcement and will continue to do so.”
Busfield received critical acclaim for his role as Elliot Weston on the ABC drama “Thirtysomething” in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He also appeared in “Field of Dreams”, “Little Big League”, “The Byrds of Paradise” and others. He is perhaps best known for his role as Danny Concannon, the White House correspondent who becomes involved with Press Secretary CJ Clegg, played by Allison Janney, on “The West Wing.”
In addition to television and film, Busfield is a theater actor and director. In 1991, Busfield and his brother, Buck Busfield, B Street TheaterA non-profit theater in Sacramento that first started as a traveling theater group for children. He also joined the Sacramento Smokeys baseball team and was inducted into the Sacramento Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. 2024.
Before the allegations regarding his time on “Cleaning Lady,” Busfield was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old actor who starred in “Little Big League” in 1994. He denied these allegations and sued his accuser for defamation. The case was concluded somehow residentialA judge orders Busfield to pay the woman $150,000.
