Judge Dismisses Child Sex Abuse Indictment Against Actor Timothy Busfield

A New Mexico judge on Friday threw out the grand jury indictment against actor and director Timothy Busfield, who was charged with criminal sexual contact with a child, saying prosecutors committed misconduct and violated grand jury law.

State District Judge Joseph Montano wrote that the prosecutor "failed to act in a fair and impartial manner." He found errors that undermined the grand jury process, including improper instructions on calling witnesses and a procedure that effectively withheld witnesses the jurors had asked to hear. He ruled that the proceedings violated grand jury statutes and that a presumption of prejudice applied. Busfield, known for "The West Wing," "Field of Dreams" and "thirtysomething," has denied the allegations from the start.

The case grew out of Busfield's work directing the series "The Cleaning Lady" in Albuquerque from 2022 to 2024. The parents of twin boys who were let go from the show accused him of inappropriately touching the children on set. A January criminal complaint said one boy reported being touched over his clothing on private areas when he was 7 and again at 8. His twin said he was also touched but did not say where, and stayed silent out of fear of getting in trouble. Busfield turned himself in and was released pending trial. A judge found no pattern of similar allegations involving children in his past. A grand jury indicted him weeks later, alleging he touched the intimate parts of one boy on several occasions, and the case moved ahead without a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors have said each count carried up to six years in prison, subject to enhancement.

The defense argued that the boys told police in their first interviews that Busfield did not touch them inappropriately, and accused the parents of coaching them after the boys lost lucrative roles. In June, Busfield's lawyers moved to dismiss, accusing prosecutors of being "willfully blind" to weak evidence. In September they played audio of grand jurors asking to hear from more witnesses, which they said prosecutors blocked by claiming subpoenas were required.

Busfield's attorney, Amber Fayerberg, said her client was relieved and grateful. She said grand jurors repeatedly asked to hear from crew members who were on set, and that those witnesses were waiting in the hallway. "The prosecution would not let them in," she said. If the state tries again, she added, "Tim is ready, and so are those witnesses."

Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley took a different view. He argued that the defense did not follow the proper process for submitting evidence and said Busfield tried too hard to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses during roughly three hours of testimony. Prosecutors said Friday they had not decided whether to seek a new indictment.

Busfield testified that the case upended his life and his family's, that he lost work and was dropped by his agency, and that the allegations were "absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever." The dismissal does not decide whether the allegations are true; it ends this indictment, and prosecutors may still try to bring the case again.