Timothy Busfield indicted in child sex abuse case tied to TV show
Actor and director Timothy Busfield has been indicted on child sex abuse charges involving young actors on “The Cleaning Lady” by a New Mexico jury.
Melissa Gilbert, the wife of Michigan native Timothy Busfield, spoke with Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos about the actor who has been charged with abusing two boys.
The full conversation was to air on Monday, April 6.
Gilbert’s husband was arrested in January on felony charges. She sat down with Stephanopoulos and discussed what has followed, which she called “the most traumatizing experience of our lives.”
“Our life, as we knew it, is done,” she told Stephanopoulos in the interview that aired April 6. “We are grieving what we had. All of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects — for Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.”
What did Melissa Gilbert say?
During the interview, Gilbert discussed the felony charges.
“For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled … even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy. The last person in the world who would hurt a child,” said Gilbert, who married Busfield in 2013.
“And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison,” Gilbert said in the interview.
Gilbert said information circulating has been inaccurate.
“We’ve been hearing and reading too much — untruth,” she said. “And we felt that the time was right to speak out. Also, honestly I wasn’t capable until now. It’s been a very traumatic time.”
Stephanopoulos asked Gilbert if she knew of the cases before the criminal complaint.
“I am neither naïve nor am I complicit,” she said. “I talked to him about it, I asked him questions about it, I heard his side of the story, which no one has ever heard, which is the truth. And when the time is right, and that is not now, Tim will tell the truth of all of these past allegations when he needs to.”
Gilbert said Busfield will be cleared.
“I am 100% confident he will be exonerated,” Gilbert said on GMA. “But I will tell you that there is a practical side to this, and we do have to be prepared for all scenarios.”
Who is Timothy Busfield?
Busfield grew up in East Lansing and he and Melissa Gilbert, who as a child starred in the 1970s series “Little House on the Prairie,” spent several years living in Michigan.
Busfield attended East Lansing schools when his father was a professor at Michigan State University.
Busfield, in 2015, said he took part in his first play as a Hannah eighth-grader. For a project in high school, Busfield helped to adapt “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Their teacher thought so much of the production, Busfield recalled in 2915, that he brought elementary school students to the high school to see it.
Busfield studied elementary education for two years at East Tennessee State University before “going pro” as an actor. He was discovered at the Actors’ Theater of Louisville, where he shared the stage with such future stars as Chris Cooper, Kathy Bates and playwright Beth Henley.
Busfield, an Emmy award-winning actor with dozens of film and television credits to his name, in 2016 began a one-year term at Michigan State University as artist in residence at Michigan State’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
Busfield was tapped to develop programming for MSU’s public television station WKAR, as well as co-teach courses on acting and fiction film production, Prabu David, Dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, said at the time.
Busfield and Gilbert moved to Livingston County, in 2015, but relocated to New York City in 2018.
“Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time,” said the “Little House on the Prairie” actress in a statement provided to People magazine and Us Weekly, USA TODAY reported.
Timothy Busfield sex abuse allegations
The alleged abuse of the minors occurred between late 2022 and early 2024, police say. One child alleged that Busfield had touched his genitals several times. Both said Busfield touched them inappropriately and instructed them to call him “Uncle Tim.”
According to the complaint, the children’s mother reported the incidents to Child Protective Services. One child was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and feared disclosing the alleged abuse because of retaliation from Busfield, the complaint claims. In 2024, University of New Mexico Hospital staff members requested an investigation because it appeared the boys were being groomed.
According to the affidavit, Busfield acknowledged to police in a phone interview that the set was a “playful environment” and that he had probably tickled the boys. He suggested the allegations were revenge because the boys were fired from the show. Production assistants told Albuquerque police that Busfield was sometimes touchy or unprofessional.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.freep.com ’
