Actor Timothy Busfield Arrested On Child Sexual Abuse Charges
Timothy Busfield, husband of Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert, surrendered to the Albuquerque Police Department on January 13.
The actor was officially charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, linked to alleged misconduct involving child actors during the filming of The Cleaning Lady, according to KOAT.
Busfield turned himself in just four days after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The investigation, which began in 2024, involves twin actors who appeared on the Fox series that Busfield directed.
According to the arrest warrant, the boys, now 11, were just 7 years old at the time the alleged abuse began. The victims’ mother filed a police report in October 2025 and told Child Protective Services (CPS) that “her children both disclosed that there was sexual abuse by Timothy from around November 2022 to Spring 2024.
Melissa Gilbert Breaks Her Silence
In February, Melissa Gilbert addressed the difficult time her family was facing. She then announced she was returning to her role as the chief creative officer of the Modern Prairie brand and community.
“As many of you know, I stepped away for a little while to focus on my family,” Gilbert said in the emotional video. “It was time I needed, time to be present, to tend to what matters most and to gather my strength in a season that has not been easy. Family is everything to me and during this incredibly difficult time, I leaned into that truth fully.”
The former actress thanked the women in her community for showing up for her in the good times and bad, saying that returning to her work would not impact her “commitment” or “resolve” to what remains ahead for her family.
She later sat down with Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos for an interview. Gilbert shared at the time that the ordeal had made her life “hell.”
“Our life as we knew it is done,” Gilbert shared. “We are grieving what we had — all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects. For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy. [He’s] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison.”
Timothy Busfield Seeks Change In Case
Busfield is now seeking to have the grand jury indictment against him dismissed as the actor continues to fight the charges, according to court records.
“Timothy Busfield is innocent,” Busfield’s civil attorney, Stanton “Larry” Stein, told PEOPLE in a statement. “This motion describes egregious prosecutorial misconduct during grand jury proceedings, thereby preventing the jurors from hearing testimony, witnesses and evidence even after repeated requests by the grand jury itself.”
TMZ reports that the actor requested the judge drop the grand jury because the state has “abdicated its role in administering justice.”
Busfield says prosecutors are aware of an independent investigation conducted by Warner Bros. that he claims found no evidence supporting the allegations against him.
He also noted a passed lie detector test, where he denied ever inappropriately touching one of the alleged victims, along with multiple witness affidavits defending him. Busfield says prosecutors have chosen to disregard those findings.
