Actor Timothy Busfield made his first court appearance after pleading guilty to criminal charges that he allegedly abused two men on the set of a TV series filmed in New Mexico, prosecutors said.
The Emmy-winning actor, who starred in Thirtysomething and The West Wing, was arrested in Albuquerque on two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse that police said occurred on the set of Fox’s crime drama The Cleaning Lady.
Busfield, 68, strongly denied the allegations through his lawyer.
“The claims made against Tim are completely false, and we will fight this to the end until the truth prevails,” the attorney, Stanton “Larry” Stein, said.
Stein said the actor, who is also known for his roles in the baseball film Field of Dreams and the comedy thriller Revenge of the Nerds, was accused as an act of revenge after the children were dropped from the series, upsetting their mother.
During a media conference Thursday, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said Busfield made an initial court appearance Wednesday and a judge ordered he remain in custody.
The case has now been moved to district court and a hearing has been set for January 20 to determine whether Busfield should be released on bail pending trial.
“Our priority is to protect the rights of everyone involved,” Bregman said at the news conference, urging anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
In a warrant for Busfield’s arrest, prosecutors said the boys’ parents allege Busfield groomed and sexually abused the children while working on set for The Cleaning Lady, which Busfield directed and produced. It airs on Fox in the US.
In an affidavit supporting his arrest warrant, authorities claimed the boys called Busfield “Uncle Tim” and alleged he “tickled them on the stomach and legs”. Both men told authorities they had been touched inappropriately for years, the arrest affidavit said.
One of the boys alleged that Busfield touched his private parts, according to court documents. The boy told authorities the alleged inappropriate touching began when he was 7 years old and he was afraid to speak out because he was “scared” Busfield would “get mad at him”.
The documents say the boy has suffered nightmares and had trouble reading in bed since the alleged encounters. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety, authorities said in court documents.
Before he turned himself in, Busfield appeared in a video provided by TMZ saying he was contacted Friday night about getting a lawyer. The next day he drove 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to surrender to authorities.
“They are all lies and I have nothing to do with the little boys and I will fight it. I will fight it with a good team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know that I am, because it is all very wrong and all lies,” he said in the video.
His lawyer said the case stemmed from seeking revenge. Busfield told authorities the boys’ mother threatened revenge when they were replaced on the series, the arrest affidavit said.
“As indicated in the criminal complaint, after her son was terminated from the show, the boy’s mother vowed to ‘get even with him against Timothy Busfield.’ What followed appears to be a calculated effort to make a case, driven by animus not truth, despite initial investigations that found no evidence of wrongdoing,” Stein said.
Stein added that an investigation opened by Warner Bros. into the allegations was closed after they found no “confirming evidence that Mr.
Court documents show that after authorities obtained a warrant for his arrest, another accusation surfaced alleging that Busfield kissed and groped a 16-year-old girl.
Prosecutors noted the new allegation in a motion requesting that a judge prevent Busfield’s immediate release from prison, saying the actor has a “documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior”.
In that court document, prosecutors said the girl’s father came forward Tuesday with allegations that the teenager was sexually abused by Busfield in California “several years ago” at the B-Street Theater, which the actor founded in Sacramento.
The father alleged to authorities that the encounter happened when the girl was auditioning at the movie theater and the actor allegedly kissed her and touched her sexually, the court document said.
Court documents say the father alleged the actor “begged the family not to report to law enforcement” and agreed to go to therapy.
Busfield’s lawyer told the BBC that the actor denies all the allegations and “maintains that they are completely false”. When asked about additional accusations that have surfaced, Stein said Busfield volunteered to take a polygraph test and passed it. The attorney did not provide further details on the trial.
Busfield was previously accused of sexually assaulting two women in the 1990s and in 2012, prosecutors pointed out in court documents.
Cleaning Lady producer Warner Bros. Television and Fox said they are aware of the charges against Busfield and will cooperate with law enforcement. They told the Los Angeles Times that they prioritize the health and safety of their cast and crew.
A spokesman for Busfield’s wife, Melissa Gilbert, who stars in the series Little House on the Prairie, told the BBC that she does not make public statements and is rebutting fake comments circulating on the internet claiming to be from her.
“He has honored the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process continues,” said his publicist Ame Van Iden.
“At this time, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this time.