ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A grand jury in New Mexico on Friday indicted actor-director Timothy Busfield on four charges of criminal sexual contact of a child, prosecutors said.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman made the announcement in a social media post.
Busfield, 68, is accused of inappropriately touching two boys on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” while filming in Albuquerque during 2022, KRQE reported.
He has denied the allegations, calling them “lies,” The New York Times reported.
Prosecutors have accused Busfield of repeatedly touching the genitals and backside of a 7-year-old child actor and his twin brother while he was in charge of directing the crime drama series, the newspaper reported. Busfield’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Busfield surrendered to authorities in Albuquerque on Jan. 13, a few days after an arrest warrant was issued against him, Variety reported. At a hearing a week later, Bregman sought to hold him in custody pending a trial, but a judge rejected that request.
A grand jury indictment, which requires a vote from two-thirds of the 12 jurors, means the case has moved closet to trial, the Times reported. No date has been set.
Breaking News: The actor and director Timothy Busfield was indicted on charges that he had sexual contact with a child actor whom he directed on a TV show. https://t.co/x7uBAxTkcd
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 6, 2026
Busfield’s attorneys have previously argued that the alleged victims’ parents pursued the charges because they were angry that their sons had been dropped from the show, according to Variety.
“I’m going to confront these lies. They’re horrible,” Busfield said in a video he recorded before turning himself in last month, KRQE reported. “They’re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys, and I’m going to fight it,” said Busfield in part in the recorded video.
Busfield is best known for his roles in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething.”
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