Actor Timothy Busfield was in a New Mexico jail Tuesday after turning himself in to authorities after two children accused him of sex abuse, Albuquerque police said.
Busfield was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque around 2:30 p.m., online records show.
Busfield is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement Tuesday. His office will seek to have Busfield detained while the case is pending, Bregman said.
An arrest warrant was issued Friday for Busfield after the children reported that he allegedly touched them inappropriately on the set of the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady.”
An attorney for Busfield denied the allegations.
Authorities had been unable to locate Busfield since the arrest warrant was issued, and on Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service joined the Albuquerque Police Department in its search for him.
Busfield’s attorney, Larry Stein, said his client was not attempting to avoid arrest and had asked authorities to drop the warrant and let him turn himself in, which they declined.
“He wants to turn himself in because he wants to clear his name and reputation,” Stein said. “He didn’t do anything wrong. These accusations are false as the investigator from the independent law firm found.”
Busfield is being held without bail, jail records show.
A representative for Busfield’s wife, actor Melissa Gilbert, said she will not be making statements, at the request of Busfield’s lawyers.
“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment,” the representative, Ame Van Iden, said. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time.”
Gilbert deleted her Instagram account some time after the allegations against her husband surfaced.
According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month, the parents of the two boys said Busfield allegedly touched them on multiple occasions while they were on set. One of the boys reported that he was touched on his intimate parts, per the complaint.
One of the boys told police that the first time Busfield touched him was when he was 7 years old, according to the criminal complaint. The boy said the second time was when he was 8 years old, according to the complaint.
The abuse is alleged to have taken place between November 2022 and spring 2024, according to the criminal complaint. Warner Bros. commissioned a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into complaints made against Busfield, reported in February 2025, but was not able to find any evidence to corroborate the allegations. The allegations included claims that Busfield kissed a child on the face as he was getting a haircut in the hair and makeup trailer.
Christina McGovern, the investigator from Solomon Law who led the Warner Bros. investigation, said in a statement that she was not able to corroborate any allegations against Busfield known to the company at the time.
“Based on what was alleged, and all evidence gathered, including multiple witness statements, I found no corroborating evidence that Mr. Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone with the twins on set,” McGovern said.
In an interview with investigators in November, Busfield stated that another actor on the show told him the mother of the boys was upset with Busfield when the children weren’t brought back for the final season of the show, alleging that the mother wanted revenge on him for that reason, according to a transcript of the interview. The actor Busfield referenced declined to speak to investigators, according to the complaint.
Busfield is best known for appearing in the TV shows “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething” and the movie “Field of Dreams.” The actor and director won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991 for his role in “Thirtysomething.”
