A New Mexico grand jury voted to indict the “West Wing” actor on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor.

Timothy Busfield indicted on child sex abuse charges less than a month after arrest

A New Mexico grand jury voted to indict the "West Wing" actor on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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February 6, 2026 1:25 p.m. ET

Timothy Busfield at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2019. Credit:

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Nearly a month after Timothy Busfield surrendered to New Mexico authorities for arrest on allegations that he engaged in inappropriate conduct with twin 11-year-old boys, which he has denied, a grand jury has indicted the actor on child sex abuse charges.

The office of Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the indictment on social media Friday, revealing that grand jurors voted to indict him on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor after hearing the case in a state court in Albuquerque on Thursday.

"As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law," said Bregman's post. "This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial. The case will be prosecuted by the Special Victims Unit of the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office."

Timothy Busfield at a hearing in Albuquerque on Jan. 20, 2026.

Sam Wasson/Getty

The post continued, "District Attorney Sam Bregman emphasized that protecting children remains a top priority for his office. The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims. No further information is being released at this time."

Legal representatives for Busfield did not immediately respond when ** reached out for comment.

New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for Busfield's arrest on Jan. 9, based on allegations of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with the two young boys whom he directed on the Fox series *The Cleaning Lady*, though his main role on the series was as an executive producer. The director is accused of touching the children on multiple occasions between November 2022 and spring 2024, police records show.

Busfield denied the allegations in a video and surrendered to authorities on Jan. 13.

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The day after he surrendered to New Mexico authorities, Busfield was hit with another allegation of sexual abuse. **

The pretrial detention motion, viewed by EW, alleges that a father submitted a report to law enforcement in which he claimed that while auditioning a 16-year-old girl for a production at Sacramento's B Street Theatre, Busfield "kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates." Busfield founded the theater in 1986 under the name Theatre for Children. **

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Since then, Busfield has received dozens of letters of support that were presented as evidence during his pre-trial hearing last month, including statements from his wife, *Little House on the Prairie* star Melissa Gilbert, and his *Thirtysomething* costars Peter Horton and Ken Olin.

Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2023.

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Gilbert, who has been married to Busfield since 2013, rallied around her husband the day he turned himself in and has stood firm in support ever since. Gilbert's publicist Ame Van Iden told EW that Gilbert "stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time."

Gilbert attended Busfield's first appearance in a Bernalillo County court on Jan. 20.

During that hearing, a judge ruled that Busfield would not stay in custody prior to the start of his trial. The judge also ordered that Busfield have no unsupervised contact with any minors, refrain from consuming any alcohol or illegal drugs, and could not contact the alleged victims or their families.

Busfield could face at least three years in state prison if found guilty of the alleged child abuse.**

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