Timothy Busfield made his first court appearance on Jan. 14, appearing before a judge in Bernalillo County, New Mexico after he was charged with child sex abuse crimes.
The actor and director, 68, best known for his roles on The West Wing and Thirtysomething, was officially charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13) and one count of child abuse on Jan. 13, according to prosecutors.
Busfield is being held without bond and remains in custody ahead of his pretrial detention hearing, which the judge confirmed would take place in the next five business days, with Jan. 29 as the deadline for his preliminary hearing.
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Timothy Busfield appears in court on Jan. 14.Bernalillo County District Court
In a pretrial detention motion filed on Jan. 14 and obtained by PEOPLE, another accusation of sexual abuse was leveled against Busfield. A father, Colin Swift, reported to law enforcement on Jan. 13 that Busfield, 68, allegedly sexually abused Swift’s daughter “several years ago” in Sacramento, Calif.
“While auditioning for [Busfield] at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that [Busfield] kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” the motion read.
Busfield allegedly “begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy,” and Swift, being a “therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”
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Timothy Busfield mugshot.Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center
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Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, surrendered to authorities on Jan. 13 after an arrest warrant was issued by the Albuquerque Police Department earlier that week.
He was taken into custody and officially charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse on allegations that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys. According to the warrant, one of the victims alleged that the incidents began when he was 7 years old.
Prosecutors filed a motion for pretrial detainment that day, seeking to keep Busfield in custody while he awaits trial.
In a video obtained by TMZ, Busfield spoke out for the first time shortly before his surrender.
“Hi everybody, it’s Tim,” the video began. “I’m sure most of you know, that are watching this, that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I’m here now. I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer. Saturday I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m gonna confront these lies. They’re horrible.”
He continued, “They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
“So hang in there and hopefully I’m out real soon and back to work,” he concluded. “I love everybody for supporting me, thank you.”
An investigation began on Nov. 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged sexual abuse.
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