Busfield has been held without bond since a court appearance Wednesday on charges stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched two minor boys on a New Mexico television set. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Attorneys for Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield argued in an Albuquerque court Friday that he should be released from pretrial detention on child sex abuse charges, saying a Warner Bros. investigation found the allegations against him unfounded and that he passed a polygraph test.
Busfield has been held without bond since his first court appearance Wednesday on charges stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched two minor boys on a New Mexico television set. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
The defense attorneys’ court filings cited an investigation conducted by Warner Bros. into the allegations — an inquiry they said prosecutors had not included in their criminal complaint — and said independent witnesses supported the investigation’s finding that the allegations were unfounded.
The filings also alleged the accusations emerged only after the two boys lost their roles on the television series on which the alleged incidents occurred, which the attorneys said created a financial and retaliatory motive. The attorneys further alleged that both parents of the accusers have a history of fraud and dishonesty.
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. According to a police investigator’s account in the criminal complaint, one boy alleged Busfield touched him on private areas over his clothing on two separate occasions — once when the boy was 7 years old and once when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, though he did not specify where, saying he had not come forward sooner because he did not want to get in trouble.
The alleged incidents are said by investigators to have occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a television series Busfield was directing in Albuquerque.
Before turning himself in, Busfield shared a video in which he called the allegations “lies.” Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, is known for his roles in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams,” and “Thirtysomething.”
New Mexico is among a small number of states that permit polygraph results to be admitted as evidence in criminal cases, according to legal experts cited by the Associated Press. A judge retains final authority over whether such evidence may be used in court, and strict requirements for admission apply.