Actor Timothy Busfield released from custody pending trial in child abuse case

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Actor Timothy Busfield, who was arrested on charges of alleged criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse, appeared in court on Tuesday, where a judge ruled he will be released pending trial.

He was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

His travel is not prohibited.

His wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, was visibly emotional as the judge ruled to let Busfield go.

"The West Wing" actor turned himself in to authorities last week and is being held with no bond.

Busfield wore an orange jail jumpsuit and had his hands in handcuffs as he was escorted into Tuesday's pretrial detention hearing.

The charges against Busfield stem from accusations that he inappropriately touched a child actor on the set of his show "The Cleaning Lady," according to a criminal complaint. The child's parents reported that the alleged abuse began in 2022, when the child was 7 years old, and lasted until 2024, according to court documents.

Busfield has not entered a plea but denied the allegations when interviewed by investigators, according to the criminal complaint.

Busfield's attorney said in a statement last week, "Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false. As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed."

In prosecutors' motion for pretrial detention, they argued that Busfield should remain in custody, mentioning another allegation against him.

Prosecutors said the father of a 16-year-old went to law enforcement last week to report alleged abuse from "several years ago." The 16-year-old claimed that during an audition, Busfield "kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates," the court document said.

Gilbert is speaking out in defense of her husband, writing in a letter to the judge, "Tim has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known. He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others."

Gilbert also wrote about her husband's relationship with her son Michael, saying, "Tim nurtured and guided Michael. ... I will never be able to express the depth of gratitude I have to God for bringing this wonderful human into our lives."

Gilbert's letter was among 70 letters of support, including from Busfield's stepson Michael and his former "Thirtysomething" co-stars Ken Olin and Peter Horton.