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Melissa Gilbert Urges Judge to Protect Timothy Busfield as Defense Seeks His Release Before Jan. 20 Hearing

Prosecutors argue he poses an ongoing danger and cite a pattern of alleged grooming that now includes a Sacramento claim.

Overview

  • Busfield, 68, is being held without bond in Albuquerque on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, with a pretrial detention hearing set for Jan. 20.
  • Defense attorneys filed an opposition on Jan. 16 that includes roughly 75 support letters from family and industry colleagues; Gilbert is a signatory and listed as a potential witness.
  • The defense says Busfield passed a court‑qualified polygraph and cites a Warner Bros. review, along with an ABEL assessment, as evidence he is not a danger if released.
  • State prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention, describing a decades‑spanning pattern of alleged grooming and adding a report that he abused a 16‑year‑old in Sacramento years earlier.
  • The case stems from a November 2024 hospital alert and accusations that he inappropriately touched 11‑year‑old twins on The Cleaning Lady set; Warner Bros. says it is cooperating, and if convicted he could face up to about 15 years.