Busfield maintains his innocence, and his lawyer tells EW the actor is “determined to clear his name.”

Authorities release Timothy Busfield’s mugshot after West Wing star surrenders on child sex abuse allegations

Busfield maintains his innocence, and his lawyer tells EW the actor is "determined to clear his name."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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on January 13, 2026 8:51 p.m. ET

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Timothy Busfield in New York in 2020. Credit:

Noam Galai/Getty

Timothy Busfield's mugshot has been released, following his voluntary surrender to New Mexico police on child sexual abuse charges.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of the *Thirtysomething *actor and husband of *Little House on the Prairie *star Melissa Gilbert on Saturday after he was accused of inappropriately touching twin boys whom he worked with on the Fox series *The Cleaning Lady*. He faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, according to the warrant reviewed by **.**

"Timothy Busfield is currently in custody at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center," Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman shared on Tuesday. "The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office intends to file a motion seeking to keep Mr. Busfield in custody while the case proceeds through the judicial process. A judge will then determine whether Busfield remains detained or is released pending trial."

Busfield's mugshot was made public by the Detention Center the same day.**

Timothy Busfield's mugshot.

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center

Busfield's attorney, Stanton "Larry" Stein, commented on his client's arrest in a statement shared with EW on Tuesday.

"This morning, Tim voluntarily appeared before New Mexico authorities after traveling across the country to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations. He is innocent and is determined to clear his name," Stein wrote.

Stein proceeded into a discussion of alleged details from the criminal complaint against Busfield, including the results of an independent investigation into the allegations ordered by *Cleaning Lady *studio Warner Bros. Stein claimed that the investigator found "no corroborating evidence" of misconduct on Busfield's part. His attorney asserted, "The claims being made against Tim are completely false, and we will fight this to the end until the truth prevails."

Melissa Gilbert deletes social media as husband Timothy Busfield faces child sex abuse allegations

'West Wing' actor Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse, warrant issued for his arrest

Busfield spoke out on the charges for the first time in a video obtained by TMZ on Tuesday.

"I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I'm gonna confront these lies," he said. "They're all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I'm going to fight it. I'm going to fight it with a great team, and I'm going to be exonerated."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Gilbert also spoke out in support of her husband for the first time on Tuesday after deactivating her social media accounts on Sunday. "During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment," a representative for Gilbert told EW. "Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time."

*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.*

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