Actor Timothy Busfield arrested

[Herat]

Timothy Busfield turned himself in to authorities in Albuquerque, NM today.

He says he "followed instructions" by getting an attorney and the driving 2,000 miles to Albuquerque.

Interesting that he didn't put himself in the position of being identified by taking a flight, and chose instead a 12-hour drive.

 

[mickey2942]

Well, I am impressed that he turned himself in. He will probably get bail, and drag this out forever.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Busfield's video statement.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2011160567826817314

 

[mickey2942]

Timothy Busfield's 'Law & Order: SVU' Episode Pulled from NBC After Arrest Warrant Issued for Alleged Child Sex Abuse

The Jan. 15 episode of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' guest starring Timothy Busfield will not be airing on NBC. On Monday, Jan. 12 PEOPLE confirmed the episode was pulled and will be replaced by the following week's episode.

people.com

Interesting that he was going to be on a "Law and Order:SVU" episode. The network pulled the episode.

I found this article interesting. Where he talks about "playing with kids". Where is the line? My husband plays with kids all of the time, it was something that I loved about him when we first met at church, he was always playing basketball, and football with the younger kids. He truly loved it. He was a coach, and boy scout troop leader. He was never inappropriate.

But, could he have been accused of being "inappropriate"? Possibly. Could a counselor have "pounced" on something he may have done? Teaching kids swimming, being too close? When teaching diving?

He was never accused, of course. But it is complicated. I don't know. Withholding judgement for now.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This NYT report probably has a paywall, but it is worthwhile reading.

The Case Against Tickling (Published 2020)

Laughter doesn’t always signal enjoyment, and “stop” should mean “stop.”

www.nytimes.com

When she was a young child, Ashley Austrew’s father would hold her down and tickle her so hard she felt momentarily paralyzed. He thought they were having fun — the tickling made her laugh, after all — but she dreaded it. More than once, she rolled off the couch and hit her head on the coffee table.

Tickling was common in Austrew’s family, along with other kinds of roughhousing, such as a game in which her dad would pretend to sleep as she and her two sisters tiptoed around him, and then he’d pop up and playfully grab one of them. This game, she said, felt “safe, fun and funny.”

But the tickling was different.

“I didn’t like it, but also there was this pressure to like it, so it put me in a weird position,” said Austrew, a freelance journalist who lives in Omaha, Neb. “It felt like there was an unspoken social contract that adults were supposed to tickle kids to make them laugh, and kids were supposed to like being tickled.”

It’s a familiar story. Many of us have memories of being tickled in a way that made us feel annoyed, uncomfortable or even violated. The idea of unwelcome tickling dates as far back as Socrates, who said it brought more pain than pleasure. Yet plenty of children, my 3-year-old daughter included, genuinely seem to enjoy it. Tickling sends her into fits of delighted giggles. The moment we stop, she demands more.

So what do parents need to know? Is there a right way to tickle our kids, and what are the dangers if we get it wrong? How do we tickle without violating boundaries? And should we be tickling at all?...

This is a well stated piece. This is what I was trying to say in my earlier post. I am sure there are so many of us over the age of whatever that have strong memories of tickling.

“It felt like there was an unspoken social contract that adults were supposed to tickle kids to make them laugh, and kids were supposed to like being tickled.”

BUT thinking about it more today, it really was a two-way street. Adults would do the initial tickling, but I can remember all of us cousins would initiate the tickling as well. WE learned where "the major tickling place" on each other . I can remember rumble tumble tickling frenzies getting everyone to just laugh uncontrollably.

 

[AnyNameIWish]

Tmz shared a post by TB himself:

...I was ordered to come to Albuquerque..
...drove to turn himself in for 2000 miles, left LA on Saturday...
...Will confront the lies... they're horrible.. I'm going to fight these charges, they're all lies.
... love everybody for supporting me


As a fan of the West Wing, this is disappointing but Hollywood never ceases to amaze me in its treatment of the little guy.

 

[sds71]

A representative at Warner Bros. Television previously told PEOPLE in a statement, "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. [We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement."


Gilbert's rep also spoke out in a statement on Jan. 13 after Busfield's surrender: “Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time. Any purported 'statements' circulating online — including AI-generated deepfakes of her 'breaking her silence' — should not be treated as coming from her. She is honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds. 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.”

 

[Inthedetails]

Busfield was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque around 2:30 p.m., online records show.....

Busfield is being held without bail, jail records show.

Actor Timothy Busfield turns himself in amid child sex abuse allegations

An arrest warrant was issued for Busfield last week by authorities in New Mexico.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

A representative at Warner Bros. Television previously told PEOPLE in a statement, "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. [We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement."


Gilbert's rep also spoke out in a statement on Jan. 13 after Busfield's surrender: “Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time. Any purported 'statements' circulating online — including AI-generated deepfakes of her 'breaking her silence' — should not be treated as coming from her. She is honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds. 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.”

For any family, well known or not, these kinds of allegations (especially for those family members that literally had no idea) are a literal nightmare. Even moreso when they're true.

Food for thought.

jmo

 

[Mauritius]

Does American law not give automatic anonymity to CSA survivors? I mean the article hasn't named them but it's not hard to work out who it is. Poor kids. In the UK anything that could identify them would not be allowed in the media

If the show hadn’t been listed it would have taken a bit more searching, or if hadn’t indicated victims were twins… but with the directors name and date of alleged acts alone, it is still quickly searchable. I had the reaction you did, but realize a lot would have to be done to hide their identity (like not report it was child actors at all,
or not report it was actors on a show he directed, maybe?).