New Mexico grand jury indicts actor Timothy Busfield on child sex abuse charges

A grand jury in New Mexico has indicted actor Timothy Busfield on four felony counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, Bernalillo County prosecutors announced Friday.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a social media post that the grand jury returned four charges stemming from allegations that Busfield sexually abused two children while working on the set of the Fox television series “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in New Mexico in 2021.

The case was expected to move forward to trial in the 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. Busfield, who lived in Sacramento for many years and co-founded the B Street Theatre, has denied the allegations.

Busfield turned himself in to authorities last month, and prosecutors sought to keep him in custody, citing public safety concerns. In a court filing, they alleged Busfield had a history of inappropriate sexual behavior, including an accusation that he molested a 16-year-old girl while she was auditioning at Sacramento’s B Street Theatre. No criminal charges were filed in that case, according to court records.

A judge later released Busfield on his own recognizance pending trial.

Busfield has denied the allegations. In a video posted online by TMZ, he said the accusations were false and said he intended to fight the charges.

“I’m going to confront these lies,” Busfield said in the video. “They’re horrible. They’re all lies. And I did not do anything to those little boys.”

Busfield is best known for his roles on ABC’s “Thirtysomething,” NBC’s “The West Wing,” and the film “Field of Dreams.”