Timothy Busfield's career is 'done' following abuse allegations
Timothy Busfield believes his career "is done" and he will never work again after he was accused of child sexual abuse.
Timothy Busfield believes his career "is done" after he was accused of child sexual abuse.
The West Wing actor is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13), and in his testimony to a grand jury in Alburquerque in February, which was obtained from the district attorney's office through a public records request by USA Today this week, he admitted he doubts he'll ever work again because of the allegations.
He said: "My career's done. I'm, I'm canceled. I'll never, I don't, I'll never work again just based on people's fear that I would do this again and, and even if it wasn't true, I’m done. I've lost TV shows, a movie they've digitally replaced me from. My agency fired me. I'm done. This is not about me or a pity thing."
The charges relate to alleged incidents that occurred between late 2022 and early 2024 when he was working as a director and producer on The Cleaning Lady and Busfield has alleged the claims were made up by the parents of twin boys in revenge for them being dropped from the show.
He expressed his hope that the allegations against him wouldn't also ruin the life and career of his wife, Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert.
He said: "My children, grandchildren, everybody in my life is done because of these false allegations for money and for revenge. These two criminals [the boys' parents] have ruined me. And my wife and her business, I'm not going to break that."
The 69-year-old actor's testimony spanned more than two hours, during which he repeatedly apologized for going off topic because he was nervous and acknowledged "this is all very real and the stakes are very high."
Last month, Busfield's lawyers sought to have the grand jury indictment against him dismissed, citing "prosecutorial misconduct".
His civil attorney, Larry Stein, told People magazine in a statement: “Timothy Busfield is innocent.
"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.
"The government repressed and suppressed exculpatory evidence, misstated the law and failed in the most basic due process afforded any person under either Constitutional or State laws designed to protect actual innocence from abuse of government power.”
The attorney previously admitted the "indictment was not unexpected”, but insisted the case was "fundamentally unsound".
He added: "As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich. 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. 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."
The Field of Dreams star has denied all the charges, saying in a video obtained by TMZ: “I did not do anything. 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."
