Actor Timothy Busfield has made his first court appearance after turning himself in on criminal charges that he allegedly sexually abused two boys on the set of a TV series filming New Mexico, prosecutors say.
The Emmy-winning actor, who starred in Thirtysomething and The West Wing, was taken into custody in Albuquerque on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse that police allege happened on the set of Fox’s crime drama The Cleaning Lady.
Busfield, 68, strenuously denied the allegations through his lawyer.
“The claims being made against Tim are completely false, and we will fight this to the end until the truth prevails,” the lawyer, Stanton “Larry” Stein, said.
Stein said the actor, who is also known for his roles in the baseball film Field of Dreams and the comedy thriller Revenge of the Nerds, was being accused as an act of revenge after the children had been terminated from the series, which angered their mother.
During a media conference on Thursday, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said that Busfield made an initial court appearance on Wednesday and a judge ordered that he remain in custody.
The case is now being transferred to district court and a hearing has been set for 20 January to determine whether Busfield should be released on bail pending trial.
“Our priority is to protect the rights of everyone involved,” Bregman said at the news conference, urging anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
In a warrant for Busfield’s arrest, prosecutors say the parents of boys allege that Busfield groomed and sexually abused the youngsters while working on set for The Cleaning Lady, which Busfield both directs and executive produces. It airs on Fox in the US.
In an affidavit supporting his arrest warrant, authorities claim the boys referred to Busfield as “Uncle Tim” and alleged that he “would tickle them on the stomach and legs”. Both boys told authorities they were touched inappropriately for years, the arrest affidavit states.
One of the boys alleged that Busfield touched his private areas, according to court documents. The boy told authorities that the alleged inappropriate touching started when he was 7 years old and he was scared to speak out because he “feared” that Busfield would “get mad at him”.
The documents state that the boy had suffered nightmares and was having troubles wetting the bed since the alleged encounters. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety, authorities say in the court documents.
Before he turned himself in, Busfield appeared in a video provided to TMZ saying that he was contacted on Friday night about getting a lawyer. The next day he drove 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to surrender to authorities.
“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,” he said in the video.
His lawyer says the case stems from wanting revenge. Busfield told authorities that the boys’ mother had threatened revenge when they were replaced on the series, the arrest affidavit states.
“As reflected in the criminal complaint, after her son was terminated from the show, the boy’s mother vowed to ‘get her revenge against Timothy Busfield.’ What followed appears to be a calculated effort to construct a case, driven by animus not fact, despite prior investigations finding no evidence of wrongdoing,” Stein said.
Stein added that an investigation opened by Warner Bros about the allegations was closed after they could not find “corroborating evidence that Mr Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone” with the boys.
Court documents show that after authorities got a warrant for his arrest, another accusation surfaced alleging Busfield kissed and groped a 16-year-old girl.
Prosecutors noted the new allegation in a motion asking that a judge keep Busfield from being released from jail immediately, alleging the actor has a “documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior”.
In that court document, prosecutors said the girl’s father had come forward on Tuesday with allegations that the teen had been sexually abused by Busfield in California “several years ago” at the B-Street Theatre, which the actor co-founded in Sacramento.
The father alleged to authorities that the encounter happened when the girl was auditioning at the theatre and the actor allegedly kissed her and touched her sexually, the court document states.
Court documents state that the father alleged that the actor “begged the family to not report to law enforcement” and agreed to go to therapy.
Busfield’s lawyer told the BBC that the actor denies all the allegations and “maintains that they are completely false”. When asked about the additional accusation surfacing, Stein said Busfield had volunteered to do a polygraph test and had passed it. The lawyer did not provide further details on the test.
Busfield has previously been accused of sexual assault by two women in the 1990s and in 2012, which prosecutors pointed to in court documents.
The Cleaning Lady producer Warner Bros Television and Fox said that they were aware of the charges against Busfield and would work with law enforcement. They told the Los Angeles Times that they prioritise the health and safety of their cast and crew.
A spokesperson for Busfield’s wife Melissa Gilbert, who starred in the series Little House on the Prairie, told the BBC that she would not make public statements and pushed back against fake comments circulating online that claim to have come from her.
“She is honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds,” her publicist Ame Van Iden said.
“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment. Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
