Hear Melissa Gilbert call Timothy Busfield’s accusations ‘cruel’
Audio obtained by USA TODAY shows Melissa Gilbert telling police that the accusations against Timothy Busfield are “cruel” and “vengeful.”
After starring roles in Thirty Something and The West Wing, Timothy Busfield’s career was in decline at age 69, but he was still an active actor and director.
That’s no longer the case, according to grand jury testimony obtained exclusively by USA TODAY from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, district attorney’s office through a public records request.
Ms Busfield told the 12-member jury that she could no longer find work. His last hope, he said, is that the child molestation allegations against him won’t also destroy his wife, actress Melissa Gilbert.
The actor and director was indicted in February on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child, stemming from incidents that occurred in New Mexico between late 2022 and early 2024 while he was working as a director and producer on the film “Cleaning Woman.”
“My children, my grandchildren, everyone in my life is over because of false allegations for money and revenge. These two criminals (the boys’ parents) have destroyed me. And my wife and her business, I’m not going to destroy that,” Busfield said at a hearing in February.
His wife is a former child star on “Little House on the Prairie” and co-founder of the lifestyle brand Modern Prairie. In conjunction with Netflix’s reboot of “Little House” on July 9, Gilbert has been promoting prairie-inspired products, from $58 hand-carved limited-edition wooden figures of Laura Ingalls Wilder to $128 patchwork denim overalls.
Busfield told the grand jury that he did not have any inappropriate contact with the twin boys. He said the parents fabricated the abuse and manipulated the children into lying because they wanted revenge for being kicked out of the fourth season of the crime thriller.
During more than two hours of testimony, Mr. Busfield repeatedly apologized for going off-topic, acknowledged he was nervous and acknowledged that “this is all very real and the stakes are very high.”
“My career is over. I’m cancelled. I’ll never, ever work again based on people’s fears that I’ll do that again. And even if that wasn’t true, I’m done. I lost a TV show, I lost a movie that digitally replaced me. The agency fired me. I’m done. This isn’t about me or any regrets.”
What’s next for Timothy Busfield?
A 12-member grand jury met in Albuquerque on February 5 and heard more than four hours of testimony from Albuquerque Police Officers Marvin Brown and Busfield. They did not seek to interview any further witnesses and returned the indictment that afternoon.
Busfield’s attorney, Larry Stein, previously told USA TODAY in a statement that “the charges were not unexpected” and maintained that Busfield is innocent.
USA TODAY reached out to Stein for an update.
“As the saying goes, the grand jury will indict the ham sandwich. What is very concerning is that the district attorney is choosing to move forward with a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial,” Stein previously said.
On June 18, Busfield’s team filed a motion asking the court to throw out the indictment, alleging that prosecutors failed to present a fair and impartial case and misrepresented the law to the grand jury.
A trial date is set for May 2027.
timothy bus field Charges: What is he accused of?
The boys accused Busfield of inappropriate physical contact on the show’s set, saying Busfield told the boys to call them “Uncle Tim.” One boy said Busfield touched his genitals several times over his clothes.
The investigation began in November 2024, when staff members at the University of New Mexico Hospital reported concerns that the boys were being groomed by Bassfield after their mother brought them in for examination for suspected sexual abuse. Hospital staff found no evidence of abuse.
Police interviewed the boys and they stated that they had not been sexually abused at the time.
In September, the boys disclosed that they had been abused by a therapist, which led to further police investigation and Busfield’s arrest.
Mr. Busfield has not spoken publicly about the incident. A video obtained by TMZ in January showed him promising to “stand up against these lies.”
To protect the boys’ privacy, USA TODAY is not publishing the names of the boys or their parents. USA TODAY does not publish the names of sexual assault survivors.
“I have never done anything inappropriate.”
Busfield told the grand jury that others on the set, from the cinematographer to the hair and makeup artist, said she and the boys were not alone. He said the boys were constantly monitored on set.
Ms Busfield told jurors: “I have never engaged in any inappropriate behavior with a prepubescent boy in any way, physically or sexually.” “I have never done anything inappropriate like that.”
Detective Brown shared testimony from more than 10 interviews, including testimony with the school’s teacher who said the boys were not supervised at all times. Two production assistants confirmed the teacher’s testimony and told Mr. Brown that the boys were often seen unsupervised.
Brown interviewed another film crew who said he was with Busfield the entire time he was on set and that he never saw the director tickle or touch the boys.
Brown told the jury that Busfield initially told the boys he had not touched them, but later admitted to tickling them.
“He tickled them and got them pumped up for the next set,” Brown said.
Busfield told the grand jury, “Maybe I touched them, but there was never any inappropriate behavior or sexual activity. … Their father said, ‘Hug Uncle Tim,’ and that’s when I touched them. I didn’t initiate that.” I don’t remember ever kissing either of those boys. Never. Photography? Never. Oh, that’s what you do. Did I kiss them while they were taking pictures?” Have you ever tickled them under the ribs like you would your own child? Never touched them inappropriately. ”
“Parents will coach their children,” Timothy Busfield tells jurors.
Busfield told jurors that the boys’ parents fabricated the abuse as revenge for being kicked off the show and losing their pay, which totaled $30,000 per episode.
“(The boys) are victims of these criminals. It’s terrible. We shouldn’t call them criminals. Parents will coach their kids and make up (lies). I think it’s a horrible thing for these boys’ lives. They have to live with that,” Busfield said.
The boys’ father lost his law license in California and served three years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy for taking money from homeowners facing foreclosure and failing to help them, according to records from the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. He was ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution.
The boys’ mother has multiple civil judgments against her for writing bad checks and gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos, according to Nevada court records.
Brown said that if a child confesses to being a victim of sexual assault, investigators will not “start accusing the parent of being a bad parent.”
“(Our) job is to determine if something like that happened, not to determine the parent’s criminal behavior or past,” Brown said. “There are children who are victims of sexual assault whether their father or mother was released from prison or not, but just because someone was a criminal in the past doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a child who is a victim of sexual assault.”
Busfield also told the jury there was video of the boys telling police “I didn’t touch them.” The boys initially told police that they had not been physically touched.
Brown said this is especially common in prepubescent boys who are shy.
“This child’s delayed disclosure was genuine. If the child had been coached, why didn’t he first disclose when the first officer asked? For a child to go through multiple therapy sessions and then disclose to a licensed therapist nine or 10 months later does not seem like coaching to me,” Brown said. “Not only did the therapist believe the child, but the forensic interviewer believed the child. I watched the interview and believed the child, and it was consistent that this child was not lying.”
A judge is scheduled to consider evidence regarding Mr. Busfield’s request to have the grand jury indictment vacated on August 25, but Mr. Busfield will not be required to attend the hearing.
Gilbert visited the set of the Little House reboot and continues to support the show. She and her husband moved out of their New York City apartment in June to live full-time in a cabin in the Catskills.
Laura Trujillo is a national columnist focused on health and wellness. She is the author of “Stepping Back from the Ledge: A Daughter’s Search for Truth and Renewal.” Contact him at ltrujillo@usatoday.com..
