The West Wing actor Timothy Busfield was released from jail Tuesday night in New Mexico while he awaits trial on child sexual abuse charges, a court has ruled. Bernalillo County District Court Judge David A. Murphy rejected New Mexico prosecutors' bid to keep Busfield, 68, detained. They outlined what they said was grooming behaviour and abuse of power by the Thirtysomething actor over three decades.
Busfield's charges stem from allegations he inappropriately touched a minor on the set of the TV series, The Cleaning Lady, that he was directing in New Mexico. He faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a child under 13 and one count of child abuse.
Busfield's lawyers argued that the actor wasn't a danger to the community and shouldn't be behind bars while he awaits trial.
Murphy said while the crimes Busfield is accused of are inherently dangerous and involve children, prosecutors didn't prove he posed a risk to public safety if released. Story continues below advertisement "There's no evidence of a pattern of criminal conduct, there are no similar allegations involving children in his past," Murphy said. "Rather, this defendant self-surrendered and submitted himself to this court's jurisdiction, demonstrating compliance with the court order for his arrest."The judge also said that the risk of Busfield committing more crimes "can be remedied through different conditions of release."Under the order, Busfield may not contact the alleged victims or their families, discuss the case with witnesses, or have any unsupervised contact with minors. He has also been ordered to appear for all his future court dates and is not allowed to possess any firearms or dangerous weapons or consume any alcohol or illegal drugs.
The ruling came a week after Busfield surrendered to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) after an arrest warrant had been issued for the director to face child sex abuse charges.
Busfield appeared at the hearing wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles. View image in full screen Director and actor Timothy Busfield arrives for a hearing at the Bernalillo County Courthouse on Jan. 20, 2026, in Albuquerque, N.M. Sam Wasson/Pool Photo via AP According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the APD said a boy reported that Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was seven years old and a second time when he was eight. The boy's twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but he did not specify where and said he didn't tell anyone because he feared he would get in trouble, the complaint said. Story continues below advertisement During the hearing on Tuesday, Busfield's lawyers pointed out that the children initially said during interviews with police that Busfield didn't touch them inappropriately. Busfield's lawyers then accused the boys' parents of coaching their children toward incriminating statements after the siblings lost lucrative roles on the show.
Busfield's defence team called one witness - Alan Caudillo, director of photography on The Cleaning Lady - to testify that children on set were never left alone with anyone and that the parents were the ones who encouraged hugs with adults on the set. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. According to the criminal complaint, one of the boys later disclosed during a therapy session that he had been inappropriately touched by Busfield. Those records were obtained by police during the investigation. 2:47 West Wing actor Timothy Busfield charged with sexual contact of a minor, child abuse Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch called the evidence of abuse against Busfield strong and specific. She also said witnesses expressed fear about potential retaliation and professional harm. Story continues below advertisement "The boys' allegations are supported by medical findings and by their therapist," Brandenburg-Koch said. "Their accounts were specific and not exaggerated.""It was during therapy, not the parents, that S.L. described sexual abuse by the defendant and V.L. disclosed inappropriate touching," she added, referring to the alleged victims by their initials that appear in the criminal complaint. "S.L. even disclosed in therapy that he was mad at his dad because he thought he knew it was going on since he had the iPad to watch his children." View image in full screen Director and actor Timothy Busfield looks on before a hearing at the Bernalillo County Courthouse on Jan. 20, 2026, in Albuquerque, N.M. Sam Wasson/Pool Photo via AP Defence lawyer Amber Fayerberg said her client will be under intense scrutiny because of the publicity surrounding the charges."That bell can't be un-rung," Fayerberg said. "The idea that he