Actor-director Timothy Busfield denied the allegations after being charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse involving 11-year-old twins from “The Cleaning Lady.”
Prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention, citing ongoing risk to the children, while Busfield’s lawyer disputes the allegations and points to a lack of evidence.
A separate decades-old allegation against Timothy Busfield involving a teenage girl was also mentioned in court records.
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Timothy Busfield ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’ by child abuse allegations, lawyer says
Actor and director Timothy Busfield continues to deny all allegations after being charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
Talk to People Magazine On Jan. 13, his civil attorney, Larry Stein, said the 68-year-old was “shocked” and “devastated” by the accusations involving 11-year-old twins.
Stein stressed that Busfield intends to defend himself vigorously, calling the allegations “absolutely false.”
Busfield turned himself in to Albuquerque police the same day, following a warrant issued by APD Officer Marvin Brown, who stated that one of the alleged victims was seven years old at the time of the incidents.
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According to court documents, the twins met Busfield while working as actors on the FOX series “The Cleaning Lady,” on which he served as director from 2022 to 2025.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced that prosecutors had filed a pretrial motion to keep Busfield in custody, citing a “continued and serious danger to children and the community.”
According to the motion, Busfield allegedly used his position of authority to groom minors over an extended period of time, exploiting professional boundaries.
The motion argues that no form of “supervision, electronic monitoring, or no contact order can reasonably mitigate this danger.”
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Timothy Busfield’s lawyer says allegations stem from casting dispute
Busfield’s attorney disputes the allegations against the actor, saying he believes the court will allow his client to be released on his own recognizance, saying there is “no evidence to support these allegations.”
He explained that the controversy arose after the twins were not recast for the final season of the series, which he said angered their mother.
According to Stein, the decision was made by the showrunner, not Busfield, and the family’s frustration then turned towards their client.
Court documents also revealed that Busfield informed authorities that the mother may have acted out of revenge after her sons were replaced by a younger actor.
Warner Bros. reportedly conducted an internal review of the complaints and contacted Busfield about the investigation.
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Christina McGovern, an independent investigator hired by Warner Bros. Television, said it had conducted a thorough review of the allegations and found “no corroborating evidence that Mr. Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he had been alone with the twins on set.”
A Warner Bros. spokesperson added that the studio prioritizes the safety of its cast and crew, especially minors, and takes all allegations seriously while cooperating fully with law enforcement.
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Timothy Busfield denies allegations in video recorded before going to police
Before surrendering, Busfield recorded video later obtained by TMZ in which he forcefully denied the allegations against him.
Appearing on camera, the actor said he was ordered to go to Albuquerque and arrived after traveling approximately 2,000 miles after securing legal representation.
In the video, Busfield described the allegations as “just lies” and insisted he had done nothing wrong.
“I’m going to fight with a great team, and I’m going to be exonerated, I know it, because it’s all so false and it’s lies,” he said.
He ended the message by thanking his supporters and saying, “So hang in there, and hopefully I’ll be back soon and back to work. I love everyone who supports me, thank you.”
Prosecutors cite decades-old allegations in Timothy Busfield’s pretrial detention motion
In addition to the allegations involving the twins, prosecutors referenced a separate complaint in a motion for pretrial detention filed Jan. 14.
According to the document, a man named Colin Swift contacted authorities on January 13 to report that Busfield had allegedly molested his teenage daughter years earlier in Sacramento, California.
The filing says the girl, who was 16 at the time, claimed Busfield “kissed her, put his hands down her pants and touched her private parts” during an audition at the B Street Theater.
The motion further alleges that Busfield “begged the family not to come forward to law enforcement if he attended therapy.”
Swift, described in the filing as a therapist, reportedly agreed at the time, believing it was the appropriate course of action.
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Timothy Busfield’s lawyer slammed Colin Swift’s allegations
Following the inclusion of this allegation in the court motion, Busfield’s attorney Stein responded by rejecting the relevance of the allegation.
He said the claims “have never been disputed, have never been proven and are 25 years old.”
Stein added that “there appears to be no connection between these allegations about the women from 25 years ago and the allegations about these young boys.”