Timothy Busfield allegedly told the authorities that there were no specific rules about the set of The cleaning woman on how adults should physically interact with child actors, an arrest warrant for the actor obtained by Us Weekly complaints
The 68-year-old actor-turned-director faces off multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor after being accused of inappropriately touching twin boys on set. On November 3, 2025, Busfield was questioned by the officer Marvin Brown if he had ever had physical contact with the children in question.
Busfield replied that it was “very likely that it would”, describing the set as a “playful environment”. When asked what the protocol was for “touching the kids and picking them up” on set, the actor allegedly said it was “not allowed,” but later claimed there was “no protocol,” according to the warrant.
“I mean, I’m always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of parents. There would never be a weird moment,” she said at the time. “I don’t really remember picking up those guys. I remember picking up the guy who was following them. I’d pick him up and he’d laugh and that would get him ready to act.”
Busfield also stated that he did not recall “overtly tickling boys ever”, but noted that tickling a boy “wouldn’t be unusual” for him.
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images; The Presley Ann/WireImage Investigation Discovery docuseries on Nickelodeon revealed the letters of support that dialogue coach Brian Peck received after he was arrested for sexually abusing actor Drake Bell in 2003. The contents of the letters were briefly shown during the fourth episode of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which (…)
As for other rules on set, when asked if the kids’ parents could have iPads to keep an eye on their kids while they were working, Timothy said, “We don’t really like parents having iPads” and that “it wasn’t standard process.” However, she claimed that the children were “never alone on set without the teacher, a social worker or a parent”.
Timothy Busfield
Steven Ferdman/Getty ImagesOn Friday, January 9, police in New Mexico issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest on two counts of criminal misconduct against a minor — one for each child. One of the boys alleged that the headmaster had touched him inappropriately three or four times, while the other boy claimed that Busfield had touched him five or six times. The complaint said one of the boys was “very afraid” of Busfield and had been afraid to tell anyone “because Tim was the principal, and he was afraid that Tim would get mad at him.”
we Busfield representatives have been contacted for comment.
How we previously reported, Busfield’s wife, Melissa Gilbert, spoke on the subject of child sexual abuse just weeks before the arrest warrant was issued. On November 15, while reminiscing about his own years as a child star on the set of Little house on the prairieshared a photo of herself at 15 kissing her co-star Dean Butlerwho was 23 years old at the time.
“So I debated posting this, but feel compelled to share. After seeing many posts from women with the hashtags #iwasfifteen #imfifteen #iwasachild, I decided to google myself at this age and see what came up,” she captioned it. posting on social networks. “And that’s part of what I found … and now, at this age, at this point, I’m nauseous.”
He continued: “Through today’s lens, this is shocking. I have no more words to say: ‘IT WAS A BOY.’ I WAS FIFTEEN.” Thank God my mom and Michael and so many others were there to make sure I was safe. Can you imagine if I hadn’t had them all? I’m very lucky (sort of). A lot of other young women aren’t.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.