Timothy Busfield Pleads Not Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse Charges
What To Know
- Actor Timothy Busfield has pleaded not guilty to four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor under 13.
- Busfield waived his arraignment and pretrial court appearances, and was released from custody after turning himself in following his indictment in New Mexico.
- He publicly maintains his innocence, calling the allegations false and vowing to fight the charges with legal support.
Warning: The following post reports on allegations of child sexual abuse.
Timothy Busfield is maintaining his innocence as his court proceedings get underway, pleading not guilty to charges of child sexual abuse.
The actor was indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13) on February 6, and he pleaded not guilty to the four counts in a plea entry in New Mexico’s Second Judicial District Court on February 10, as People reported on Saturday, February 21.
On February 11, Busfield waived his arraignment and appearances in court for all pretrial proceedings, and a week later, a judge granted that request, according to the magazine.
The counts pertain to events in October 2022 and September 2023 and are third-degree felonies, People added. Busfield is alleged to have engaged in sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys he met on the set of the Fox drama The Cleaning Lady, on which they were child stars and he was a director, according to a warrant issued on January 9.
Busfield turned himself in on January 13 and was released from custody in New Mexico a week later.
“I’m gonna confront these lies,” he said in a video shared online by TMZ. “They’re horrible. They’re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys, and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated. I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
In addition to his directing work, Busfield is an actor known for playing Elliot Weston on Thirtysomething and Danny Concannon on The West Wing. He has been married to Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert since 2013.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is the victim of child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
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