Actor and director Timothy Busfield is accused of sexually abusing two child actors on the set of the Fox crime drama The Cleaning Lady, where he served as an executive producer and directed multiple episodes.
Busfield — best known for his roles in The West Wing and Thirtysomething, for which he won a 1991 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said Friday.
The alleged incidents involved twin brothers and took place between November 2022 and the spring of 2024. According to one of the siblings, the abuse began when he was seven.
According to the arrest warrant filed by Albuquerque police and reviewed by local ABC affiliate KOAT, the 68-year-old actor allegedly instructed the children — now 11 and identified by their initials VL and SL — to call him “Uncle Tim.”
The kids reportedly told investigators that “Uncle Tim” would tickle them on the stomach and legs, despite their objections.
An investigation into the alleged incidents began in November 2024, after staff at the University of New Mexico Hospital alerted authorities about possible sexual misconduct involving the two boys.
Speaking with investigators last year, Busfield said he did not remember touching the children inappropriately.
He also suggested the children’s mother could be seeking revenge for not bringing the boys back for a new season, KOAT reported.
Online court records did not show that Busfield had been arrested as of Saturday morning.
Busfield is married to Little House On The Prairie star Melissa Gilbert.
The Cleaning Lady, starring French actress Élodie Yung, was canceled in June 2025 after four seasons. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
