An actress from a beloved television show has deactivated her social media accounts as her husband faces child sexual abuse charges.
Melissa Gilbert, who is best known for her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder in the television series “Little House on the Prairie” (1974 — 1983), has been married to Timothy Busfield since 2013. Busfield, who is also an actor, is currently facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest earlier this week. According to the warrant, two child actors, who are twin brothers, claimed that Busfield inappropriately touched them while working on the set of the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady.” Busfield directed six episodes of the crime drama, which aired from 2022 to 2025.
The boys’ mother said her sons were “groomed,” and that they both claimed the abuse took place from fall 2022 to spring 2024.
Albuquerque police officer Marvin Brown, who issued the warrant, asked Busfield about the claims of inappropriate touching.
“I mean, I’m always around people, right? Uh, uh, uh… it would be, it would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it. I don’t really remember picking those boys up,” the actor replied, according to the warrant reviewed by Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t remember those boys … I don’t remember it … If it happened, I don’t remember overtly tickling the boys ever, but it wouldn’t be uncommon for me.”
NJ.com has reached out to Busfield and Gilbert for comment.
READ MORE: ‘SNL’ alum says costars turned a blind eye to his addiction struggles
Warner Bros. Television, the studio that produced “The Cleaning Lady,” shared a statement with Entertainment Weekly.
“The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions,” a representative for the studio said. “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 are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
As of Sunday, Jan. 11, Gilbert’s Instagram and Threads pages are unavailable. The actress spoke out against child abuse on film and TV sets just months before her husband’s shocking arrest warrant.
In a November Instagram post, Gilbert recalled feeling forced to kiss costar Dean Butler, who is eight years her senior, in “Little House on the Prairie.” Gilbert was 15 at the time.
“Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN,” she wrote, according to the celebrity.land. Gilbert added that she was more “fortunate” than most, as adults on the NBC set kept her “safe.”
While Gilbert rose to prominence on “Little House on the Prairie,” Busfield is known for his roles in “The West Wing” (Donny Concannon), “Thirtysomething” (Elliot Weston) and “Field of Dreams (Mark).
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nj.com ’
