NM - Actor Timothy Busfield arrested, 10 January 2026

[Curiousobserver]

As I understand the news, these specific allegations were investigated independently and none of what was alleged was able to be corroborated. I wonder what additional information local police have to this independent investigation that is sufficient to go to trial?

 

[Ontario Mom]

As I understand the news, these specific allegations were investigated independently and none of what was alleged was able to be corroborated. I wonder what additional information local police have to this independent investigation that is sufficient to go to trial?

From what's been posted, at least one of the boys is on record (after the 2024 initial investigation) stating TB touched his private areas more than once.

 

[Ontario Mom]

"Now, in a separate motion filed in New Mexico, Busfield has been accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl while she was auditioning for a show. The alleged victim's father told police Busfield groped the aspiring actress 'several years ago' at the theater he founded in Sacramento, California. 'While auditioning for the defendant at B Street Threatre, the 16-year-old reported that (he) kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,' the motion states."

Timothy Busfield 'sexually abused third child whose dad urged THERAPY'

The actor was previously charged with engaging in in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys. Busfield has now been hit with an accusation from a third alleged victim.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Timothy Busfield faces new sexual abuse allegation involving 16-year-old girl

The Emmy-winning actor is expected to appear in court via teleconference Wednesday amid separate sexual abuse allegations from two child actors he worked with on a television show.

www.nbcnews.com

Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, who has been charged child sex abuse in New Mexico, faces a new allegation that he sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in California years ago, according to court documents filed by prosecutors Wednesday.

In the seven-page court document, New Mexico prosecutors said law enforcement officers received a report Tuesday from the alleged victim’s father, who claimed Busfield kissed his 16-year-old daughter and touched her intimate parts “several years ago.”...

 

[tlcya]

hmmm. I think I will see how many more cases pop on this before forming an opinion on guilt or not. I am curious what studies and statistics say about whether pedophiles have a victim type. Because at this point we've got 7 to 11 year old boys and a 16 year old girl saying they were molested by this man. It's got me confused because I was always under the impression these offenders had a sex and age range they were more attracted to than say others

ETA I am also mindful that Busfield and Gilbert have at least five adult children between them and I am not sure how many grandchildren.

 

[kuromiiiilove]

hmmm. I think I will see how many more cases pop on this before forming an opinion on guilt or not. I am curious what studies and statistics say about whether pedophiles have a victim type. Because at this point we've got 7 to 11 year old boys and a 16 year old girl saying they were molested by this man. It's got me confused because I was always under the impression these offenders had a sex and age range they were more attracted to than say others

ETA I am also mindful that Busfield and Gilbert have at least five adult children between them and I am not sure how many grandchildren.

I will say I am not a forensic psychiatrist or in the mental health field. But as far as I understand it, while predators may have a preference, they are overall opportunistic. They target vulnerable children to exert power over them. There are lots of cross-gender pedophiles (for example, Epstein is mostly known for abusing teen girls, but male victims have also come forward). From what I have seen/read, the most reliable predictor of victimization is simply proximity/access/vulnerability.

For example, Larry Nassar abused girls as young as 6, as well as women in their 20’s. He may have had an age preference (I don’t know), but acted mostly opportunistically. Sandusky also had a big age variation in the boys he abused, and a lot of catholic clergy abuse cases include both male and female victims. And Jimmy saville abused both genders, various ages. I think it’s kind of ‘pop psychology’ that we have an idea that a predator has a set age range or gender and doesn’t stray.

 

[sds71]

Busfield appeared before Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera via Zoom from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.

He was advised that he will remain in custody at least until a hearing can be held on the state’s motion to detain him pending trial. The hearing will be within five days. No plea was entered.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/busfield-pretrial-dention-motion-jan-14.pdf

Timothy Busfield Appears In Court After Surrendering On Child Sex Charges

Timothy Busfield is appearing in a New Mexico court for the first time today, after surrendering on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact with a minor ... and we have a livestream straight from the courtroom.

www.tmz.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

hmmm. I think I will see how many more cases pop on this before forming an opinion on guilt or not. I am curious what studies and statistics say about whether pedophiles have a victim type. Because at this point we've got 7 to 11 year old boys and a 16 year old girl saying they were molested by this man. It's got me confused because I was always under the impression these offenders had a sex and age range they were more attracted to than say others

ETA I am also mindful that Busfield and Gilbert have at least five adult children between them and I am not sure how many grandchildren.

The first case (the boys) TB accused of being used by their mom as revenge because the role on the show they were in was recast (source) but it was a mandated reporter (a doctor that initially examined the boys) that actually called police.
I haven't seen any refutation about the girl's claims. I wonder if he'll say that was revenge as well?

I have no idea if he's guilty or not. If not, there are some really twisted people out there using their kids to hurt him.

 

[doublestop]

dbm

 

[Ontario Mom]

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/busfield-pretrial-dention-motion-jan-14.pdf

Wow. That's an eye-opener there. Decades of known, sexually abusive behavior. Okay.

 

[Inthedetails]

The first case (the boys) TB accused of being used by their mom as revenge because the role on the show they were in was recast (source) but it was a mandated reporter (a doctor that initially examined the boys) that actually called police.
I haven't seen any refutation about the girl's claims. I wonder if he'll say that was revenge as well?

I have no idea if he's guilty or not. If not, there are some really twisted people out there using their kids to hurt him.

I share the same reaction. I have no idea about guilt, but hate that kids are involved whether the allegations are true or not.

I'm waiting to see how this develops.

jmopinion

 

[Ontario Mom]

Sorry, I cannot watch that vile person. My opinion.

Same. Ugh.

 

[Inthedetails]

Busfield appeared before Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera via Zoom from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.

He was advised that he will remain in custody at least until a hearing can be held on the state’s motion to detain him pending trial. The hearing will be within five days. No plea was entered.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/busfield-pretrial-dention-motion-jan-14.pdf

Timothy Busfield Appears In Court After Surrendering On Child Sex Charges

Timothy Busfield is appearing in a New Mexico court for the first time today, after surrendering on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact with a minor ... and we have a livestream straight from the courtroom.

www.tmz.com

The prosecution is using the video message Busfield released before turning himself in against him. Bummer, dude.

"More troubling, prior to surrendering, the Defendant chose to record and disseminate a video to a national media outlet, TMZ. This conduct demonstrates a willingness to prioritize personal narrative control and public relations over compliance with lawful court processes. Such behavior raises serious concerns that the Defendant will comply with court orders only when it suits him, rather than out of respect for judicial authority or rule of law."

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/busfield-pretrial-dention-motion-jan-14.pdf

 

[sds71]

B Street Theatre:

The motion did not say when the alleged incident at B Street Theatre took place. However, the theater organization appeared to acknowledge the incident, saying in an email to The Bee that the “newly reported” allegation in the motion involved an allegation made against Busfield 25 years ago, after which he had no role with the group.
“B Street retained legal counsel at the time to conduct an internal investigation and Mr. Busfield has not had any role in the organization since 2001,” the theater company said. “He is not involved in our current operations, staff, leadership or programming,” the statement said.

In an earlier statement regarding the New Mexico allegations, the theater company distanced itself from Busfield but did not mention the prior incident.
In fact, the statement made a point of saying that the allegations against Busfield in New Mexico did not involve any activity at the B Street Theatre. “B Street Theatre is aware of recent media reports concerning Timothy Busfield and allegations of criminal conduct that have been reported in New Mexico,” the initial statement said. “These allegations did not occur at B Street Theatre, nor do they involve any activity connected with our organization, its staff, or our programs.”

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article314322813.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Ontario Mom]

The prosecution is using the video message Busfield released before turning himself in against him. Bummer, dude.

"More troubling, prior to surrendering, the Defendant chose to record and disseminate a video to a national media outlet, TMZ. This conduct demonstrates a willingness to prioritize personal narrative control and public relations over compliance with lawful court processes. Such behavior raises serious concerns that the Defendant will comply with court orders only when it suits him, rather than out of respect for judicial authority or rule of law."

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/busfield-pretrial-dention-motion-jan-14.pdf

It is kind of creepy you'd film and post exclusively an "it's all lies!" video to TMZ, of all places, prior to turning yourself in.
It does validate everything the motion stated. A narrative control tactic.

jmo

 

[tricia]

Here is the arrest warrant.

 

[mickey2942]

Thank you @tricia for posting the arrest warrant. I read through it, and remembered something I had read recently about a child actress, it was really shocking and eye opening about their treatment.

Timothy Busfield appears in court for child sex abuse case

The former West Wing star, 68, wore an orange prison jumpsuit as he stood before the judge with his hands clasped in front of him in the New Mexico courtroom.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Interesting that his wife is not "standing by her man". That seems significant to me.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Thank you @tricia for posting the arrest warrant. I read through it, and remembered something I had read recently about a child actress, it was really shocking and eye opening about their treatment.

Timothy Busfield appears in court for child sex abuse case

The former West Wing star, 68, wore an orange prison jumpsuit as he stood before the judge with his hands clasped in front of him in the New Mexico courtroom.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Interesting that his wife is not "standing by her man". That seems significant to me.

If she was completely in the dark about this, my heart goes out to her. This kind of stuff is a nightmare for any innocent family members for sure.

jmo

 

[Bigditch]

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.”

I guess the Warner Bros rep never heard of Harv.

 

[mickey2942]

If she was completely in the dark about this, my heart goes out to her. This kind of stuff is a nightmare for any innocent family members for sure.

jmo

If I was 100% sure that my husband was innocent, I would be there right next to him. But, if I didn't believe he was innocent, I wouldn't be there.

It may be more than that. After all, these people are famous, maybe they are different. But she could have flown down for the day.