New Mexico Judge Dismisses Child Sex Abuse Indictment Against Actor Timothy Busfield

A New Mexico judge has dismissed the grand jury indictment against actor Timothy Busfield that accused him of criminal sexual contact with a child, ruling that the prosecutor in the case “failed to act in a fair and impartial manner.”

State District Judge Joseph Montano granted a defense motion to toss the charges in a written decision released Friday, according to documents obtained by USA Today. Montano found that the prosecutor had not properly instructed grand jurors on the law for calling witnesses and had withheld requested witnesses through a faulty procedure.

“The prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner, including the failure to properly instruct the grand jury on the law for calling witnesses and in instructing the grand jurors on a procedure that effectively withheld requested witnesses,” Montano wrote in the ruling.

According to USA Today, grand jurors had requested additional witness testimony before returning the indictment. The prosecutor told the jurors that additional testimony would require a subpoena and 36 hours of notice, without saying that a judge could allow a shorter time frame or that witnesses could testify willingly without a subpoena.

The case stemmed from Busfield’s time directing the Fox television series “The Cleaning Lady” from 2022 to 2024. The parents of two twin boys who were let go from the show claimed that Busfield inappropriately touched the children on the set in Albuquerque, according to CNN.

A criminal complaint filed in January said an investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department reported that one boy said Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield but did not specify where and did not say anything at the time because he did not want to get in trouble, according to the complaint.

Busfield, 69, surrendered to authorities in January and was released pending trial by a judge who found no pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in his past, CNN reported. He was indicted in February on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, according to USA Today, and pleaded not guilty. He has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as lies motivated by revenge.

In an email on Friday, Busfield’s attorney Amanda Fayerberg said he was “relieved and grateful” after reading the judge’s decision, according to CNN.

Prosecutors have not ruled out new charges

The dismissal does not end the matter. Prosecutors said Friday they had not yet decided whether to present the case to a new grand jury. Nancy Laflin, a spokesperson for the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, told Entertainment Weekly: “Our office has received the order and is evaluating our options to determine how we will proceed.”

Busfield’s wife, “Little House on the Prairie” actor Melissa Gilbert, reacted to the ruling on Instagram, posting a Shakespeare quote: “So shines a good deed in a weary world,” USA Today reported. She also shared a New York Times article about the case on her Instagram Story.

Reporting based on coverage by CNN, USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.