Prosecutors in the child sex abuse case involving Timothy Busfield will file a motion to keep the actor in police custody as the case proceeds towards trial.
According to a Facebook post shared by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman on Tuesday, January 13, “The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office intends to file a motion seeking to keep Mr. Busfield in custody while the case proceeds through the judicial process.”
The post continued, “A judge will then determine whether Busfield remains detained or is released pending trial.”
A representative from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office told Us Weekly on Tuesday night that Bregman’s post is “the only statement we’re releasing at this time.”
Bregman, who is a candidate for the 2026 Governor of New Mexico and also the father of Houston Astros’ baseball star Alex Bregman, also noted in his post that prosecutors “routinely” file “pretrial detention motions in cases involving these charges.”
Busfield, 68, is currently being held at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. Bregman’s Facebook post noted that the “Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor” charge applies to children “under 13.”
Us previously reported that the alleged incidents occurred when the West Wing alum was directing The Cleaning Lady, which aired on Fox from 2022 to 2025. (Busfield’s accuser and his twin brother were employed as child actors on the series.)
Legal documents obtained by Us last week showed that the child involved claimed that Busfield first touched his “private areas” when he was 7 years old. Busfield is accused of touching the accuser three or four times, in addition to touching him five of six times when the child was 8 years old.
Busfield surrendered to New Mexico authorities on Tuesday but has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. Busfield’s attorney, Stanton “Larry” Stein, told Us in a statement on Tuesday that his client “voluntarily appeared before New Mexico authorities after traveling across the country to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations. He is innocent and is determined to clear his name.”
Stein’s statement also claims that the accusations appear as “a calculated effort to construct a case, driven by animus not fact, despite prior investigations finding no evidence of wrongdoing.”
Per the complaint, the mother of the child involved reported to Child Protective Services that the alleged abuse occurred between late 2022 and the second half of 2024. Her child was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety following the alleged incidents.
Per interview footage of Busfield speaking to authorities following his surrenderment, subsequently published by TMZ, Busfield personally denied all claims lodged against him. “I’m going to confront these lies. They’re horrible. They’re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys,” Busfield stated in the clip. “I’m going to fight it. I’m going to fight it with a great team, and I’m going to be exonerated. I know I am because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
Busfield’s wife, Melissa Gilbert, said in a statement to Us via her rep on Tuesday that her focus remains on supporting and caring for their family, including Busfield. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time,” the statement read.
It came after the Little House on the Prairie star shared a cryptic Instagram post in the days leading up to Busfield’s arrest warrant being issued. The quote, “You seem to have mistaken discomfort for injustice” was shared before she expanded in the post’s comment section.
“It’s about not taking accountability for your own situation. It’s about being a big whiny baby. I saw this quote and it struck me. I have a particularly hard time with people who play the victim. Own your s***. Step up. It’s all pretty general. Has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with privilege, attitude and weakness,” it read.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
