This already upsetting case has taken some distressing turns.
Timothy Busfield is accused of sexual abuse of two child actors who worked on The Cleaning Lady.
But hitches in the case include a witness in his defense — and contradictory statements from the alleged victims.
To top it all off, Busfield’s stepson has something to add.
This case keeps looking more complex as we learn more
Last week, actor Timothy Busfield surrendered to police in Albuquerque.
The mother of two child actors alleged that he sexually abused them both on the set of The Cleaning Lady.
He is facing two charges of criminal sexual contact with a minor. He is also facing one count of child abuse.
However, a witness from the show’s crew has come forward to suggest that the mother in question has an alleged motive.
Additionally, investigators’ initial investigation obtained audio recordings of the alleged victims denying that any inappropriate touching took place.
TMZ obtained court documents featuring statements from veteran Hollywood security guard Christopher Ford.
According to these records, Ford attended a lunch during The Cleaning Lady Season 3 in early spring 2024 in which the mother of the two boys was present.
At the time, it was unclear whether the child actors would return to the show.
Ford shared that the woman became frustrated, vowing to “get Timothy Busfield” and to “have his ass” if her sons were not rehired.
This, he said, came before any complaint filing. And, sure enough, Busfield ended up replacing the actors with another child actor who had auditioned.
When was the opportunity for the alleged crimes?
According to Ford, parents of child actors were always present on the set when their children were working.
He described the father encouraging his sons to hug people on set.
Ford never witnessed Busfield alone with any children. (Though, to be clear, it would be contradictory if he had)
He explained that there was “no realistic opportunity” on the set for alone time.
Instead, Ford detailed, child actors interacted with Busfield in open areas of the set with plenty of other adults around.
Then there is the police recording that TMZ obtained featuring investigating officers speaking to the boys in November 2024.
Both child actors confirmed that they knew that no one could “touch your private areas.”
Both then told investigators that Busfield had never touched them inappropriately. This sounded like a categorical denial.
However, their mother sent them to see a counselor.
It is unclear if prosecutors are going to present a claim that the boys only recovered memories of sexual abuse in therapy. Given how notorious “recovered memories” are, perhaps the argument is that the boys were allegedly afraid to come forward before counseling.
His stepson is an outspoken character witness
Melissa Gilbert has two adult sons, and shares 30-year-old Michael Boxleitner with ex-husband Bruce Boxleitner.
People obtained a look at a character letter that Michael penned in the defense of Busfield, who became his stepfather when he was 15.
He gushed about what sort of person Busfield is, declaring the man to be “my hero.”
He said that he’d “shown up for me as a father more” than his biological father.
Michael praised: “He is kind, thoughtful, and carries himself with a stalwart integrity all of us could only ever hope to match.”
Truth be told, when it comes to CSA allegations, character witnesses do not mean much about guilt.
When your home is burglarized, you don’t line up everyone whose home remained untouched to declare the burglar innocent.
So whether we’re talking about a high powered Hollywood predator or a date rapist, other people liking and trusting them doesn’t really mean anything.
We should keep in mind that Busfield has multiple allegations of misconduct, going back decades.
However, all of these other allegations were of inappropriate contact with adult women or teenage girls. Absolutely not okay if true, but very different from the charges that he’s facing at present.
If this makes it to trial, the prosecution may find it challenging to explain several key aspects of the case.