Timothy Busfield was indicted Friday in New Mexico on four counts of child sexual abuse, two weeks after being released from jail on those charges.
Busfield, 68, is accused of groping a 7-year-old boy on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a Fox TV show on which he worked as a director. He has adamantly denied the charges.
Busfield surrendered to authorities in Albuquerque, N.M., on Jan. 13, a few days after an arrest warrant was issued against him. At a hearing a week later, the Bernalillo County district attorney sought to hold him in custody pending a trial, but a judge rejected that request.
The D.A.’s office indicated at that hearing that it would take the case to a grand jury for an indictment. Busfield will next appear in court to be arraigned on the charges. The case is being handled by the D.A.’s Special Victims Unit.
“As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” the D.A.’s office said in a statement on Friday. “District Attorney Sam Bregman emphasized that protecting children remains a top priority for his office. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims.”
Busfield’s attorneys have argued that the alleged victims’ parents pursued the charges in an act of revenge, after their sons were dropped from the show.
“The Criminal Complaint was driven, not by evidence, but by the efforts of parents with a documented record of deception and financial exploitation to manufacture leverage after losing a six-figure income stream,” the defense argued in a motion opposing pre-trial detention.
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Larry Stein, Busfield’s civil attorney, said in a statement on Friday that the indictment was not unexpected.
“As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” he said. “What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial.”
Stein also alleged that the Jan. 20 hearing “exposed fatal weaknesses in the State’s evidence.”
“This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law,” he added. “Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors.”
From Variety US