An arrest warrant has been issued for Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, best known for his roles in Field of Dreams and TV’s thirtysomething and The West Wing, on allegations of sexual abuse involving a minor in New Mexico.
According to court documents obtained by KOAT, the investigation began in November 2024 when an officer was dispatched to the University of New Mexico Hospital after a doctor called police.
The officer spoke with parents who said their children, two boys, were actors on the Fox television drama The Cleaning Lady, which Busfield joined as a director.
According to the warrant filed by Albuquerque police in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Jan. 4, Busfield told the children, identified as VL and SL in the document, to call him “Uncle Tim.”
“(The mother) informed Officer Osborn that she had asked their children … who were eleven years old at the time, if anyone had ever touched them in a manner that made them feel uncomfortable,” the affidavit states. “The children responded by asking, ‘You mean like Uncle Tim?”
While the boys did not disclose any sexual contact at the time, they said Busfield would “tickle them on their stomach and legs,” according to police, who determined the evidence didn’t meet the threshold for charges at that time.
Then, in early October 2025, one of the parents reported to Child Protective Services that her children disclosed sexual abuse by Busfield from around November 2022 to spring 2024. One child shared with a therapist that Busfield touched both his “genitalia” and “bottom” on several occasions while on the set of the show, the affidavit states.
Albuquerque PD Officer Marvin Brown described Busfield’s alleged behavior as “classic grooming.”
“He would invite the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent-classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy,” Brown stated.
Brown interviewed Busfield, who only acknowledged having “playful” contact with the children on the set, the affidavit states. He suggested the allegations were due to the parents wanting “revenge” after their children were not brought back for the show’s final season.
Busfield, 68, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, faces two counts of sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. It was unclear if he had been booked as of Saturday.
Busfield has more than 700 credits as an actor, producer and director. In 1991, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Elliot Weston on the hit series thirtysomething. He also had major roles in The West Wing, Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Sneakers (1992) and Quiz Show (1994).
KTLA has reached out to Busfield’s representatives for comment but did not receive a response as of Saturday morning.
Warner Bros. Television, which produced The Cleaning Lady for Fox, addressed the charges in a statement to Deadline:
“The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”