Timothy Busfield Will Be RELEASED From New Mexico Jail as Disgraced Actor Awaits Trial on Child Sex Abuse Charges
Timothy Busfield appeared in court to learn if he would be released on bail
Jan. 20 2026, Published 6:33 p.m. ET
Timothy Busfield will be released on his own recognizance after a lengthy hearing that saw both sides set the stage for their cases, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The West Wing star will have a set of restrictions, including constant check-ins, mandatory attendance of all future court dates, and no contact with the minors behind the accusations.
Busfield Back in Court
The actor has vowed to fight child sexual abuse charges against him.
Busfield, 68, was back in court on Tuesday, January 20, for a mini-trial to determine his incarceration. He was dressed in a traditional orange jumpsuit and showed little emotion.
Both prosecutors and defendants were each given an hour to lay out their arguments for why the actor should remain in jail or be set free.
His lawyer, Christopher Dodd, even called a witness to the stand – Director of Photography Alan Caudillo, who worked with Busfield on The Cleaning Lady. He defended the actor-turned-director as nothing but professional.
Busfield is currently facing two counts of criminal s--ual contact of a minor and one open count of child abuse, stemming from incidents that reportedly occurred while he was directing the Fox crime drama The Cleaning Lady.
Investigators say that one child told police Busfield touched them inappropriately when they were seven years old, with alleged incidents happening five or six times starting in November 2022.
The 11-year-old male twins were treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where staff members first raised concerns that minors may have been groomed on set.
Bombshell Audio from the Children
He was dressed in a traditional orange jumpsuit.
However, Busfield has maintained his innocence from the start. And on Monday, January 19, his legal team dropped bombshell audio involving the two kids he allegedly touched, where the boys claimed nothing inappropriate happened with the actor-director.
Their first police interview took place in November 2024, during which an officer questioned the preteens, known as VL and SL, who worked with Busfield, 68, on Fox's The Cleaning Lady.
"So, you know what is right and wrong, right? You know no one can touch your private areas?" the officer asked the boys, who answered "yes."
"Yeah, but he doesn't touch those parts," one child said, while his brother responded, "No, he's never touched me... never."
The Audio Reveals All
Busfield turned himself in to Albuquerque police.
While the kids denied being sexually abused by Busfield, one of the boys allegedly later told a therapist the star touched his "genitalia" and "bottom" while working together.
Their mom then reported the alleged incident to Child Protective Services in October 2025.
The audio was submitted to the court, with Busfield's team claiming it was an "unequivocal denial" by the twins about the sexual abuse accusations.
Busfield Bites Back
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He will make a follow-up court appearance.
Busfield has vowed to challenge the charges, revealing in a video outside his lawyer's office: "I'm going to confront these lies. They're horrible. They're all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys.
"I'm going to fight it. I'm going to fight it with a great team, and I'm going to be exonerated. I know I am because this is all so wrong and all lies."
Busfield's attorney claimed the boys' mom was exacting revenge after her kids were cut from The Cleaning Lady's final season.
Larry Stein also released a statement promising to fight: "Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false.
"As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed."
The Field of Dreams star's Hollywood friends have rallied around him, and the judge has received 70 character statements, including letters from his Thirtysomething co-stars Ken Olin and Peter Horton.
