Prosecutors seek to detain actor Timothy Busfield until trial in child abuse case

Actor and director Timothy Busfield made his first appearance Wednesday in a Bernalillo County courtroom on accusations that he inappropriately touched an 8-year-old while on the set of "The Cleaning Lady." 

Metropolitan Court Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera swiftly granted the state's motion to transfer the case against Busfield, who faces felony charges of child abuse and two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor under 13, to be heard in 2nd Judicial District Court. 

Busfield's attorney did not return calls for comment.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain Busfield until trial. His detention hearing will be heard within the next several days, but no date has been set yet.

"The defendant poses an ongoing and serious danger to children and the community," according to a pretrial detention motion filed by prosecutors Wednesday. "His conduct reflects a calculated pattern of grooming, lack of boundaries and exploitation of professional authority to gain access to minors."

The pretrial detention motion states that on Tuesday another allegation came to light out of California. A father reported to law enforcement that his daughter had been sexually abused by Busfield in Sacramento.

The Emmy Award-winning actor, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit, appeared via a Zoom video conference from the jail to a courtroom filled with local and national media outlets. Busfield turned himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department on Tuesday afternoon after police issued a warrant for his arrest.

He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

"Despite knowing on Friday afternoon that a warrant had been issued for his arrest, (Busfield) did not immediately surrender to law enforcement," the pretrial detention motion states. "Instead, he delayed for approximately five days, traveling from New York to New Mexico to avoid the extradition process. This is not an act of cooperation, it was a calculated decision to submit to law enforcement only on terms most convenient to the defendant." 

The motion states that before he turned himself in to APD, Busfield recorded a video for TMZ in which he denied the allegations, and said he would "confront these lies" and stated he "did not do anything to those little boys."

The pretrial detention motion states that a child actor alleged that Busfield had "repeatedly touched (his genitals) and buttocks over clothing" while alone with Busfield on the set of "The Cleaning Lady" at Cinelease Studios, located off Interstate 25. 

Court records allege the abuse happened mostly in between filming, while the child was lying on a bed used on the set. The child said he was scared, ashamed and afraid to tell anyone because Busfield "was the director and he didn't want to get anyone in trouble."

Busfield allegedly told the children on set to call him "Uncle Tim" and he purchased gifts and socialized with the child's family outside of work, according to court records.

Before APD got involved, Warner Bros., which jointly produced the television series with Fox Entertainment, did an independent investigation of Busfield in February 2025 after receiving an anonymous complaint that he kissed a 6-year-old on the face, court records state.

A second allegation was made that, in September 2024, Busfield took another boy into a closed room at the studio office for an audition, which is prohibited. Court records state Warner Bros. failed to speak to the child or his parents.

According to court records, Busfield faced two allegations of sexual assault in the past — one in 1994 and the other around 2012. 

In the first case, a 17-year-old extra on the set of "Little Big League" sued in Los Angeles court and claimed that Busfield attempted to have sex with her in a trailer and gave her alcohol, court records state. Busfield countersued for extortion and the case was settled privately out of court.

The second allegation occurred in March 2012 when Busfield was accused of battery on a 28-year-old woman at a Los Angeles movie theater. The woman alleged Busfield "slipped his hands under clothes, touched genitals for four minutes," according to court records.

Prosecutors dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence and Busfield denied all claims, stating that the incident was consensual, court records state.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.