Last month, we reported that the former Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert’s husband Timothy Busfield had been accused of sexually abusing two 11 year-old twin boys. We then reported that Gilbert was standing by her husband in the wake of these allegations.
On Friday, Busfield was indicted by a grand jury on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child. According to court documents obtained by People Magazine, all four charges are third-degree felonies.
Busfield Indicted
The charges were announced by Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.
“As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” Bregman said in a statement. “This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial.”
Bregman went on to say that this case will be prosecuted by the Special Victims Unit of the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. He also “emphasized that protecting children remains a top priority for his office.”
“The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims across New Mexico,” Bregman concluded.
Busfield Fires Back
Busfield, 68, responded through his civil attorney Stanton “Larry” Stein. The lawyer said that the “indictment was not unexpected.”
“As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” Stein continued. “What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial. The detention hearing exposed fatal weaknesses in the State’s evidence — gaps that no amount of charging decisions can cure.”
“This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law,” he added. “Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors.”
An arrest warrant was issued for Busfield, who has been married to Gilbert since 2013, on January 9. He went on to turn himself in to police on January 13.
Busfield, an Emmy-winning actor best known for roles on shows like The West Wing and movies like Field of Dreams, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13) and one count of child abuse. It’s been alleged that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys on the set of his series The Cleaning Lady, which he directed.
Gilbert Defends Busfield
Gilbert has let it be known from the very beginning that she believes that her husband is innocent.
“Melissa stands with and supports her husband,” her rep told People Magazine after Busfield’s arrest.
Busfield himself has also maintained his innocence.
“I did not do anything,” he said last month in a video obtained by TMZ. “They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team. And I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
It seems that Busfield plans to keep fighting these charges. It will certainly be interesting to see how this turns out for him.