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Melissa Gilbert called on a judge to protect her “sweet husband” Timothy Busfield in jail while she was named as a witness in the embattled actor’s child sex abuse case.
Gilbert — who has been married to Busfield since 2013 — submitted a letter of support for the “West Wing” alum on Friday as the embattled actor remains held behind bars in New Mexico.
“I only want this extraordinary man safe and whole,” Gilbert wrote in the letter obtained by People. “Please, please, take care of my sweet husband. As he is my protector, I am his, but I cannot protect him now and I think that, more than anything else, is what is truly breaking my heart, I am relying on you to protect him for me.”
The “Little House on the Prairie” star has been steadfast in supporting her husband since he was charged with the heinous crimes over a week ago.
Busfield allegedly engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys while directing “The Cleaning Lady” in 2024.
He has denied the accusations but surrendered to police in New Mexico on Jan. 13.
The letter was among 75 submitted to the court on Friday by friends, family and former co-stars standing in support of the “Field of Dreams” actor.
“The reality is that Tim Busfield is my love, my rock, my partner in business and life. He is my comfort and my council. His joy, humor and quick wit bring sparkle to my life. Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family,” Gilbert wrote.
“I can tell you, and anyone, that I know Tim better and more intimately than anything in his life ever has. Conversely, he knows me in the same way,” she said. “Tim has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known. He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others. He starts every day with kindness and compassion.”
In the same court motion filed on Friday, Busfield opposed the state’s request for pre-trial detention, listing 13 people his defense team can call upon as witnesses, including his wife.
Gilbert claimed “multiple people” tell her that Busfield is “their favorite director ever” on “every single set” he works on.
“Actually, people say that to me in restaurants, on red carpets and in grocery stores too,” she wrote. “His former students, tell me he was their favorite teacher ever. I cannot tell you how it has warmed my heart over and over again to hear people, from so many different walks of life, tell me they encountered my husband in some way and he is their favorite. He is my favorite.”
Gilbert, who served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005, said “one of the great joys of my life” was watching Busfield be her son Michael’s stepdad.
“Michael was a teenager when Tim and I got together. A full blown, angst-ridden teenager trying to figure out his place in the world,” she said about her now 30-year-old son she had with her second husband, Bruce Boxleitner. “Tim nurtured and guided Michael. He admonished, praised, loved, consoled, cajoled, fretted, cared for, and fed my son both physically and spiritually. I will never be able to express the depth of gratitude I have to God for bringing this wonderful human into our lives.”
Gilbert acknowledged that the court-submitted letter was the “strangest” one she ever penned as her feelings took hold of the voice in the note.
“I am trying to tow a line between logic and all the feelings swirling through me. I began this letter with logic, but now the feelings have taken over. I can’t help it,” she said. “I only want this extraordinary man safe and whole.”
Busfield’s attorneys slammed the prosecutors for what they called a lack of evidence.
“The State’s attempt to transform responsible self-surrender into aggravating conduct only underscores the absence of genuine evidence of dangerousness,” the new opposition filing reveals, per Deadline.
“The Motion asks the Court to imprison a man based on a story that has already collapsed under independent scrutiny,” the document filed by Albuquerque attorneys, Amber Fayerberg and Christopher Dodd, read.
