Judge Dismisses Child Sex Indictment Against West Wing’s Busfield

A child sex abuse indictment against actor Timothy Busfield has been dismissed after a judge ruled that prosecutors had engaged in misconduct.

Busfield, 69, known for his roles in The West Wing and Thirtysomething, was informed Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that he no longer faces four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor.

Second Judicial District Court Judge Joseph Montano found that prosecutors had improperly withheld witnesses from the grand jury.

New Mexico prosecutors could still bring new charges against Busfield, although they have not said whether they intend to pursue another case.

Busfield has consistently denied the allegations, calling them lies driven by revenge.

The case arose from Busfield’s time directing the television series The Cleaning Lady between 2022 and 2024.

The parents of twin boys who were dismissed from the show accused Busfield of touching the children inappropriately on the Albuquerque set.

According to a criminal complaint filed in January, an Albuquerque Police Department investigator said one of the boys reported that Busfield touched his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 and again when he was 8.

The boy’s twin brother also told authorities that Busfield had touched him, although he did not specify where. He said he had remained silent because he feared getting in trouble, according to the complaint.

Busfield turned himself in and was released from jail while awaiting trial. The judge noted that there was no apparent pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in his past.

Several weeks later, a grand jury indicted Busfield, alleging that he had “touched or applied force to the intimate parts” of one of the boys on multiple occasions.

The indictment allowed the prosecution to move forward without a preliminary hearing on the evidence.

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Busfield’s attorneys argued that the children initially told police he had not touched them inappropriately. They also accused the boys’ parents of coaching them to make incriminating statements after the twins lost lucrative roles on the series.

In June, Busfield’s attorneys formally asked the court to dismiss the indictment. Their motion accused prosecutors of being “willfully blind to the lack of evidence” and of creating “invented procedural hurdles” that prevented grand jurors from hearing testimony from additional witnesses.

During a September hearing, Busfield’s attorney Amanda Fayerberg played audio recordings in which grand jurors asked to hear from more witnesses.

Fayerberg said prosecutors incorrectly told the jurors that subpoenas were required, even though the witnesses were “present, available and willing to testify.”

‘The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct,’ Fayerberg said.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley countered that the defense hadn’t followed the correct process for submitting evidence to a grand jury and that Busfield himself improperly and ‘excessively’ tried to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses and exhibits during his three-hour testimony.

According to the transcripts of the proceedings submitted by Busfield´s attorneys, the Field of Dreams actor told jurors that the case had turned his life upside down and affected his entire family. 

He testified that he had been ‘canceled,’ meaning he lost work and was fired by his agency.

Busfield also testified that he had nothing to hide and when asked about the allegations that he had caressed the children, he answered: ‘I’m saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever.’

Prosecutors had said each count in the indictment carried a possible penalty of six years in prison that could be enhanced.