Charges against Timothy Busfield dismissed over prosecutor misconductSusan Montoya Bryan and Savannah Peters Fri, October 16, 2026 at 9:14 PM UTC
Busfield has repeatedly denied the allegations and described them as lies motivated by revenge
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A judge has dismissed an indictment against West Wing and Field of Dreams actor Timothy Busfield after he was accused of criminal sexual contact with a child.
State District Judge Joseph Montano in New Mexico granted a defense motion to toss the charges in a decision released Friday, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors that undermined the grand jury process.
Busfield has repeatedly denied the allegations and described them as lies motivated by revenge. Prosecutors said they were reviewing the decision and had not yet decided whether to pursue another indictment.
The allegations stem from when Busfield was directing the TV series The Cleaning Lady from 2022 to 2024. Parents of two twin boys who were let go from the show alleged that Busfield touched the children inappropriately on the set in Albuquerque.
A criminal complaint filed in January said that an investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department said a boy reported that Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but he did not specify where and didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble, the complaint said.
Timothy Busfield looks on before a hearing in the Second District Judicial Court at the Bernalillo County Courthouse on January 20, 2026 in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Getty)
Busfield turned himself in and was released from jail pending trial by a judge who found no pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in Busfield’s past.
The grand jury indictment followed just weeks later, reiterating allegations that Busfield “touched or applied force to the intimate parts” of one of the boys on several occasions. The indictment allowed the case to proceed without a preliminary hearing on evidence.
Busfield’s attorneys noted that the children told police during initial interviews that Busfield didn’t touch them inappropriately and accused the boys’ parents of coaching their children to give incriminating statements after the boys lost lucrative roles on the show.
In June, Busfield’s attorneys officially asked the court to throw out the indictment, alleging in a motion that prosecutors were “willfully blind to the lack of evidence” and “invented procedural hurdles” to keep grand jurors from hearing witness testimony.
During a September hearing, Busfield’s attorney Amanda Fayerberg played audio recordings of grand jurors asking to hear from additional witnesses. Fayerberg said prosecutors wrongly informed jurors that subpoenas would be needed, even though those witnesses were “present, available and willing to testify.”
“The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct,” Fayerberg said.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley countered that the defense hadn’t followed the correct process for submitting evidence to a grand jury and that Busfield himself improperly and “excessively” tried to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses and exhibits during his three-hour testimony.
According to the transcripts of the proceedings submitted by Busfield’s attorneys, the actor also known for appearances in Thirtysomething told jurors that the case had turned his life upside down and affected his entire family. He testified that he had been “canceled,” meaning he lost work and was fired by his agency.
Busfield also testified that he had nothing to hide and when asked about the allegations that he had caressed the children, he answered: “I’m saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever.”
Prosecutors had said each count in the indictment carried a possible penalty of six years in prison that could be enhanced.
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331
Source: Crime