SHOCKING COURT MOMENT: Timothy Busfield in ORANGE JUMPSUIT Looks Utterly Downcast – What’s He Hiding?

Timothy Busfield made his first court appearance on Jan. 14, appearing before a judge in Bernalillo County, New Mexico after he was charged with child 𝒔𝒆𝒙 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 crimes.

The actor and director, 68, best known for his roles on The West Wing and Thirtysomething, was officially charged with two counts of criminal 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 contact of a minor (child under 13) and one count of child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 on Jan. 13, according to prosecutors.

Busfield is being held without bond and remains in custody ahead of his pretrial detention hearing, which the judge confirmed would take place in the next five business days, with Jan. 29 as the deadline for his preliminary hearing.

Timothy Busfield appears in court on Jan. 14.

Bernalillo County District Court

In a pretrial detention motion filed on Jan. 14 and obtained by PEOPLE, another accusation of 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 was leveled against Busfield. A father, Colin Swift, reported to law enforcement on Jan. 13 that Busfield, 68, allegedly sexually abused Swift’s daughter “several years ago” in Sacramento, Calif.

“While auditioning for [Busfield] at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that [Busfield] kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” the motion read.

Busfield allegedly “begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy,” and Swift, being a “therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”

Timothy Busfield mugshot.

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center

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Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, surrendered to authorities on Jan. 13 after an arrest warrant was issued by the Albuquerque Police Department earlier that week.

He was taken into custody and officially charged with two counts of criminal 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 contact of a minor and one count of child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 on 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓸𝓃𝓈 that he engaged in unlawful 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 conduct with 11-year-old twin boys. According to the warrant, one of the victims alleged that the incidents began when he was 7 years old.

Prosecutors filed a motion for pretrial detainment that day, seeking to keep Busfield in custody while he awaits trial.

In a video obtained by TMZ, Busfield spoke out for the first time shortly before his surrender.

“Hi everybody, it’s Tim,” the video began. “I’m sure most of you know, that are watching this, that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I’m here now. I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer. Saturday I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m gonna confront these lies. They’re horrible.”

He continued, “They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies.”

“So hang in there and hopefully I’m out real soon and back to work,” he concluded. “I love everybody for supporting me, thank you.”

An investigation began on Nov. 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮.

Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in June 2023.

Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty

While speaking with Officer Marvin Kirk Brown, who issued the warrant, the victims’ parents said the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX series The Cleaning Lady, where Busfield served as a director, according to the arrest warrant.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a Warner Bros. Television representative said, “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] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”

Shortly after Busfield turned himself in, a rep for Gilbert, who married Busfield in 2013, released a statement on the star’s behalf, which noted that she is “honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds.”

“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment,” the statement said. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”

If you suspect child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮, call the Childhelp National Child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.