Timothy Busfield, Actor and Director, Turns Himself In for Child Sex Abuse Charges

He was booked on Tuesday, the Albuquerque police said. He is accused of inappropriately touching two boys on the set of a drama series.

Timothy Busfield, the actor and director, turned himself in to the authorities in New Mexico on Tuesday and was booked on charges of child sex abuse, the Albuquerque police said. The case involves two boys who were appearing on a television drama that he was producing in New Mexico.

Mr. Busfield, 68, went to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque and was booked on a warrant that was signed on Friday by a Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court judge in Albuquerque. The warrant said Mr. Busfield had been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse.

Stanton Stein, a civil lawyer for Mr. Busfield, said his client had voluntarily appeared before the New Mexico authorities after traveling across the country “to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations.”

“He is innocent and is determined to clear his name,” Mr. Stein said in a statement.

Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said earlier Tuesday that the department was working with federal marshals to take Mr. Busfield into custody because he was not in New Mexico.

A police affidavit said the offenses took place in 2022. At that time, Mr. Busfield was an executive producer and actor on the Fox crime drama “The Cleaning Lady.” The police began investigating him last year after a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where staff members requested a sexual-abuse investigation and said it appeared the boys were being groomed, the affidavit said.

Both boys, who are 11 years old and related, said in forensic interviews that Mr. Busfield had touched them inappropriately, according to the affidavit. One of the boys told a therapist, a pediatrician and a forensic interviewer that Mr. Busfield had entered a bedroom on the set of the show and touched his penis and buttocks over his clothing, it said.

In October, the boys’ mother reported to child protective services that both children said Mr. Busfield had touched them between late 2022 and early 2024, according to the affidavit. One of the boys said the touching was sexual.

The affidavit described a phone interview Mr. Busfield had with investigators in which he told them that he had probably tickled the boys, and said the set was a “playful environment.” He suggested that the allegations were a form of revenge by the boys’ mother after they were not brought back for the final season of the show, the affidavit said.

Mr. Stein said that after the woman’s son was terminated from the show, she had vowed to seek revenge against Mr. Busfield.

“What followed appears to be a calculated effort to construct a case, driven by animus not fact, despite prior investigations finding no evidence of wrongdoing,” Mr. Stein said.

Warner Bros. Television, which produced the show, said in a statement on Tuesday that the health safety of its cast and crew was always its top priority, “especially the safety of minors on our productions.”

“We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have processes in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate and take appropriate action,” the company said. “We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement in a timely manner.”

Mr. Busfield won an Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a drama series for his work in ABC’s “Thirtysomething,” which ran for four years beginning in 1987. He also portrayed a journalist on “The West Wing.”

He is married to the actress Melissa Gilbert. The affidavit said Mr. Busfield would invite the boys’ family to gatherings off the set, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to “foster closeness.”

Ms. Gilbert’s publicist said in a statement that Ms. Gilbert was honoring a request from her husband’s lawyers not to speak publicly about the case while it unfolds.

“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment,” the statement said. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”

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