Timothy Busfield will not remain behind bars as he faces child sex abuse charges in New Mexico.
Rejecting prosecutors’ argument the thirtysomething vet could pose “a danger to the safety of others,” Judge David Murphy made the decision Tuesday to set Busfield free soon at the conclusion of a pretrial detention motion hearing in Albuquerque.
Flanked by his local lawyers, in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed, Busfield was present at the session. Having penned a letter to the judge last week in her husband’s favor, Melissa Gilbert was seated nearby with attorney Larry Stein and family members.
Melissa Gilbert attends the pretrial detention hearing for hwer husband Timothy Busfield in Albuquerque, NM (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
Conditions of Busfield’s release the judge did not restrict his travel in and out of New Mexico, but insisted he be present for all future court hearings. Noting Busfield is not to have any “unsupervised contact with any minor children in this case, Judge Murphy also said “you’re not to have any contact with the alleged victims or their families, and you’re also not to discuss the case with any witnesses.”
On January 9, Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse stemming from alleged incidents involving two minor boys on the New Mexico set of the Fox/Warner Bros TV series The Cleaning Lady, on which he was a director of several episodes during its four-season run from 2022-25. Being held without bond at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center after being arrested and booked, Busfield appeared briefly in Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera’s courtroom remotely on January 14. In the first of many hits against his career since the allegations came out, that same day, as Deadline exclusively reported, Busfield was dropped by his longtime agency Innovative Artists.
Explaining his decision Tuesday, Judge Murphy put little stock in the prosecution’s spotlight on past claims in 1994 or 2012 (claims that were never charged) against The West Wing actor,, nor did he see “a pattern of similar criminal conduct.” He went on to say: “There are no similar allegations involving children in his past. There’s no evidence of non compliance with prior court orders. Rather, this defendant self surrendered and submitted himself to this Court’s jurisdiction demonstrating compliance with the court order for his arrest.”
Judge Murphy’s decision was stark contrast to the assertion by Bernalillo County Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch that when it comes to the 68-year-old “there are no conditions this court can set to make sure anybody in the community, anybody in New Mexico, anywhere, anywhere, that this danger wouldn’t happen.”
In what can only assumed to be relief, Gilbert was sobbing in court as her husband was led away by deputies as the court prepared the order for his release. Before that, Busfield was asked by the judge if he had any questions, to which he replied “no sir.”
In hearing out the differing perspectives over several hours this afternoon from DA (and New Mexico gubernatorial candidate) Sam Bergman’s office and the defense, the ruling follows advocacy by Busfield lawyer Amber Fayerberg against prosecutors’ contention the Emmy winner could “reoffend.” Stating Busfield “should be released on his own recognizance,” Fayerberg Tuesday put the spotlight on the boys’ “con artists” and money seeking parents.
“The bottom line, your Honor, is that the overwhelming evidence is that this didn’t happen, is that this was manufactured,” Fayerberg told the court. “And there is a credible story here, and it’s a very sad story, and there are victims, and they are still these two boys, but they weren’t victimized by Tim Busfield,” she added, rejecting the DA’s evidence, and emphasis on previous but never charged claims against The Cleaning Lady director.
Along with her colleague Christopher Dodd, Fayerberg today and in court filings questioned how the 2014-born brothers and ex-The Cleaning Lady actors only spoke of tickling and similar type of touching in their first interviews in late 2024 with police officers and other authorities. It wasn’t until just a few months ago, as the police investigation appeared DOA after a Warner Bros probe, the mother of the boys told the cops that “on 09/02/2025, SL reported to his counselor that Busfield “touched his penis and bottom.”
In a November 3, 2025 phone interview with APD Officer Marvin Brown that is quoted in the January 9 warrant, Busfield detailed that Cleaning Lady “lead actress, Elodie Yung” told him back in late 2024 that “the mother of SL and VL (sic) that she wanted revenge, and I’m going to get my revenge on Tim Busfield for not bringing her kids back for the final season.”
That statement seemed to come back to haunt the parents and prosecutors today.
“They were victimized by their own parents, who no longer could make money as a lawyer, disbarred, no longer could write bad checks, taking 85% of the money they made on a TV show and then manufactured into victims as revenge, that is what the evidence shows,” Fayerberg told the court of what she clearly saw as a shakedown and career decimation by any other name against her client.
