Prosecutors have disclosed an additional allegation of sexual misconduct against actor Timothy Busfield as they seek to keep him in jail pending a trial on child sex abuse charges.
Busfield is accused of groping a 16-year-old girl who was auditioning for a role at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, according to a prosecution filing.
Busfield is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque, N.M., where he faces three charges of sexual abuse of boy who was an actor on the Fox show “The Cleaning Lady.” Busfield’s lawyer has adamantly denied the charge.
Prosecutors are seeking to hold him in jail without bail, arguing that he has exhibited “a sustained pattern of predatory conduct.”
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
In the court filing, prosecutors disclosed that a man came forward on Tuesday to report the Sacramento allegation, which allegedly occurred several years ago.
“While auditioning for the defendant at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that defendant kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” the filing states. “The defendant begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy.”
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Busfield’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
A judge issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest on Friday on charges of groping the 7-year-old boy on the set of “The Cleaning Lady.” According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the boy told an investigator that Busfield had touched his “private areas” on a bedroom set in Albuquerque.
Busfield surrendered to law enforcement on Tuesday. To hold Busfield without bail, prosecutors must persuade a judge that he presents a danger to the community that cannot be mitigated in any other way.
In the motion, the prosecution noted that Busfield has previously faced other accusations of sexual misconduct, in 1994 and 2012. Those allegations did not result in criminal charges.
Busfield was hired to direct six episodes of “The Cleaning Lady,” which aired on Fox from 2022 to 2025.
Police have accused Warner Bros., which produced “The Cleaning Lady,” of making it difficult to investigate the allegations, including by delaying production of an internal investigation into allegations against Busfield.
“The delayed and limited cooperation by Warner Bros. in responding to a search warrant further underscores the institutional barriers that have historically enabled this type of misconduct to occur,” prosecutors wrote.
From Variety US