A grand jury in New Mexico indicted actor Timothy Busfield on child sex abuse charges, officials said Friday.
Busfield was indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office said in a press release.
“As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement. “This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial.”
Bregman added that the case will be prosecuted by his office’s special victims unit, and that no further information would be released at this time.
Busfield’s attorney, Larry Stein, said the indictment was “not unexpected.”
“As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” Stein said in a statement to NBC News on Friday. “What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial.”
“This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law,” Stein said. “Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors.”
The development comes less than a month after Busfield, 68, was arrested on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor. He has denied those allegations, which involve two young boys who appeared on a Fox series that Busfield directed and acted in.
Busfield is accused of touching the children on multiple occasions on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” between November 2022 and spring 2024.
Busfield’s attorneys have said the allegations are a part of a revenge plot manufactured by the boys’ parents after the children lost their roles in “The Cleaning Lady.”
During a detention hearing last month, Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch described the children’s disclosures of alleged abuse to a therapist and doctor as specific, detailed and “not exaggerated.”
During the hearing, the show’s director of photography testified that he saw no inappropriate contact between Busfield and the children. Busfield’s lawyers cited an independent probe into the allegations commissioned by Warner Bros., which co-produced the show, that found no evidence to corroborate the allegations.
Brandenburg-Koch argued during the hearing that the abuse allegations were part of a pattern and cited past allegations of inappropriate touching and sexual assault made against Busfield by other women and a teenager.
Busfield’s attorneys denied those allegations, which have not resulted in criminal charges. During last month’s hearing, the judge overseeing the case said he put little weight in those accusations because they have not been vetted.
The judge, David A. Murphy, found that Busfield does not pose a danger to the community and ordered him released on his own recognizance while he awaits trial.
Timothy Busfield’s wife Melissa Gilbert is continuing to stand by him as he appeared in court on Jan. 20 for his pre-trial hearing.
