[UPDATE — 4:37 p.m. ET]
Veteran actor and director Timothy Busfield, best known for roles on The West Wing, Thirtysomething, and Field of Dreams, surrendered to authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Jan. 13, 2026, four days after an arrest warrant was issued for child sex abuse allegations.
Busfield, 68, turned himself in at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center after an arrest warrant was issued by the Albuquerque Police Department on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
In a video obtained by TMZ and reported by People, Busfield said he drove roughly 2,000 miles to Albuquerque after receiving notice of the warrant. He denied wrongdoing and insisted the allegations are false.
[ORIGINAL ARTICLE]
After a tense and relentless four-day search…
A longtime actor and director is being sought by authorities in New Mexico after police obtained an arrest warrant accusing him of child sex abuse offenses, according to court records and law enforcement statements.
Albuquerque police said a warrant was issued Jan. 9 for Timothy Busfield, 68, a performer known for roles on Thirtysomething and The West Wing. Authorities said they were unable to locate him in the days after the warrant was issued, and the U.S. Marshals Service has been asked to assist in executing the warrant.
The warrant lists three felony counts: two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. Authorities said the alleged victims are 11-year-old twin brothers who worked as child actors and met Busfield on the set of the Fox television series The Cleaning Lady, which he began directing in 2022. Police identified the boys only by their initials, SL and VL, to protect their identities.
Court records indicate that at least one of the alleged victims has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety and has experienced nightmares that investigators say are connected to the incidents.
The investigation began after a report of suspected child sexual abuse was made in November 2024, according to an affidavit. A second report was filed in October 2025, which investigators said provided additional information that led to the warrant.
As Mediaite reports, Busfield denied any wrongdoing when contacted by police:
The boys’ mother told police that her children “were groomed and sexually abused by Timothy,” and that Busfield had told them to call him “Uncle Tim.” She also added that before Busfield joined the show, it had been common practice for the crew to pass out iPads for the parents of the child actors on set to be able to monitor their children, but that ended after Busfield came on board.
SL told his therapist that Busfield had “touched both his ‘genitalia’ and ‘bottom.’” During the boys’ interviews with police, SL said that Busfield began abusing him when he was seven years old. Both boys described multiple incidents where they say Busfield sexually abused them for several years.
When Busfield was interviewed by police, according to the warrant affidavit, he “acknowledged to the police in a phone interview that he probably tickled the boys, describing the set as a ‘playful environment,’” and “suggested that the allegations were a form of revenge by the boys’ mother after the children were terminated from the show,” reported The New York Times.
Warner Bros., the producer of The Cleaning Lady, conducted an internal review but was unable to substantiate the allegations.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police said Busfield had not been found.
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If these people “kids” story has any credibility this could have been avoided! OFF SET ~actors of any sort should not have access to or be left alone with a minor PERIOD. This would avoid any “invented” accusations, or opportunities for predatorial behavior! I realize half of Hollyweird is pedo’s but, this appears suspicious these accusations came out after the kids were released from the show!
All it takes is a person with the means and intent to leak a story not true to destroy a person financially and professionally!
If Busfield did in fact act inappropriately and it can be PROVEN he did something with these children, then of course prosecute to the fullest extent!