EXCLUSIVE: Timothy Busfield Allegedly 'Got Very Awkward' as He Admitted to 'Tickling' Children on Set to Police, According to Recorded Grand Jury Testimony
Timothy Busfield was accused of child s-- abuse.
July 22 2026, Published 5:11 p.m. ET
Timothy Busfield willingly spoke to police while under investigation for alleged child s-x abuse, but one interaction left a police officer questioning everything, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
The grand jury indicted Busfield on four felony counts of criminal sexual contact with a child in New Mexico after hearing testimony from a police officer and investigator. While speaking with authorities, Busfield allegedly disclosed he tickled children on the set of The Cleaning Lady.
However, he denied the insinuation that the touches escalated to inappropriate sexual acts.
Timothy Busfield Allegedly Confesses to 'Tickling' Kids
Police spoke with Busfield during the investigation.
In grand jury testimony audio obtained by Radar, the investigator on the case recalled speaking with Busfield. The actor, in his own testimony, confirmed he spoke with authorities and was read his rights.
The officer admitted he didn't give Busfield the full "scope of the investigation." At first, he wanted to see if Busfield would discuss "the tickling."
The movie star, who faced a similar allegation in Minnesota in 1993, was accused of touching the private parts of two young boys on the set of The Cleaning Lady. The kids alleged to therapists, their parents, medical experts, and authorities that Busfield would tickle them and touch them inappropriately.
Before the officer offered that context about his investigation, Busfield allegedly did admit to the tickling.
"I asked Mr. Busfield if he had ever tickled these children and there's been any tickling," the officer said. "And at first he said, 'I don't recall these children.'"
The conversation then allegedly took a turn as the director "got very awkward."
The officer claimed, "He said, 'Well, it's likely I engaged in playful interactions with them ... with some children,' he said."
Timothy Busfield's Alleged Story Corroborates Boys' Claims
Busfield recalled details from the set.
Further, Busfield confirmed some details about what the boys described.
The officer told the grand jury, "I asked him to describe the setting of (the children), where they were filming. I'm new to the film industry. I've never been an actor. I've never been filmed before. So, he described the bedroom setting. It's a hospital setting with a bed-gurney, which was actually the setting consistent with Mr. Busfield was consistent with the setting the children disclosed in the forensic interview."
The director allegedly used the tickling as a way to guide them. The officer added, "He said he would go in there and get them ready to film, and he would tickle them and get them pumped up for the next set."
Timothy Busfield Confirms He Spent Hours With the Boys
Busfield had a part in recasting the children.
Busfield's reluctance to acknowledge that he knew the children was later challenged during the actor's own testimony.
When a prosecutor asked about his statement to the police, he claimed he never said he didn't know the boys and it would be "ridiculous" to assert otherwise. After all, they worked together on set for the show.
"I spent hour and hours and hours with the children," he told the prosecutor. "Of course I knew the two boys."
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Timothy Busfield Claims 'Revenge Plot'
Busfield pleaded not guilty.
Busfield was a part of the team that decided to recast the role, excusing the children from their position.
That decision, he claimed to the grand jury, sparked a "revenge plot" from the parents to get back at him. He denied all wrongdoing, pleading not guilty.
During the grand jury hearing, he was adamant the parents' children were lying "criminals."
Further, Busfield told the jury he possessed a recording of the boys saying, in their own words, that he did not inappropriately touch them.
However, prosecutors pointed to conversations with trained professionals where the boys disclosed otherwise.
