A judge ordered Timothy Busfield to be released from jail Tuesday as his sobbing wife, Melissa Gilbert, mouthed “thank you, God” during a detention hearing after the actor and director was charged with child sex abuse.
Judge David Murphy ordered that Busfield, 68, be released on his own recognizance until the trial.
He can leave the state to live at home, per the judge’s orders. Busfield will also be supervised upon release by a pretrial service in Albuquerque.
Director and actor Timothy Busfield looks on before a hearing in the Second District Judicial Court at the Bernalillo County Courthouse, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., Jan. 20, 2026.via REUTERS
The “Field of Dreams” actor is accused of inappropriately touching two minors while working as a director on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.”
Busfield has denied the allegations.
He was also accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl “several years ago” in Sacramento, California, by prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in a motion filed on Jan. 14.
“Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false,” Busfield’s lawyer, Larry Stein, told The Post in a statement earlier this month.
Upon hearing the judge order Busfield be released from jail, his wife, Melissa Gilbert, can be seen mouthing “thank you, God.”via REUTERS
The new hearing comes after Busfield’s famous former co-stars showed their support for the actor.
Ken Olin, Patricia Wettig and Peter Horton — all of whom appeared alongside Busfield on the beloved ABC drama “Thirtysomething” between 1987 and 1991 — have penned letters testifying to his character, per Deadline.
“Timothy is my friend, so no doubt I’m biased,” Olin, 71, wrote in his letter, which was included in a new court filing from Busfield’s attorneys in New Mexico. “But I know him well, through many years and many changing life circumstances, and he has always been a man who cares about other people – old and young.”
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest earlier this month on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.via REUTERS
“I know in the very bottom of my heart that Timothy would never do anything to cruelly exploit or harm anyone, let alone a child,” he added.Gilbert, 61, and “Thirtysomething” co-creator, Edward Zwick, won an Oscar for producing 1999’s “Shakespeare In Love,” also wrote their own letters of support, per the outlet.
