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FILE PHOTO: The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.
Judge Dismisses Child Abuse Charges Against Actor Timothy Busfield
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — October 16, 2026
A New Mexico judge has dismissed child sexual abuse charges against actor and director Timothy Busfield, ruling that prosecutors failed to act fairly during grand jury proceedings. The judge said prosecutors could bring new charges, leaving open the possibility of further legal action.
Judge Joseph Montano issued the ruling on Friday, finding that the prosecution had not properly explained procedures for requesting testimony from additional witnesses. The prosecutor incorrectly told grand jurors that at least eight members had to agree before a requested witness could be called, the judge said.
Montano wrote that the prosecutor had failed to act in a fair and impartial manner. He said the actions effectively prevented witnesses requested by grand jurors from being heard.
Busfield, 69, had faced allegations involving two young boys who are twin brothers. Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that the boys reported alleged inappropriate contact over a two-year period when they were 7 and 8 years old, during breaks in production of the television drama The Cleaning Lady in Albuquerque.
Busfield, who directed and produced the series, was charged in February in a four-count grand jury indictment that accused him of groping one of the boys. He has strongly denied the allegations, calling them lies, and his lawyers had asked the court to dismiss the charges.
A spokesperson for the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office of New Mexico said the office was evaluating its options following the judge’s decision. The ruling dismissed the existing charges but did not prevent prosecutors from pursuing a new case.
Busfield is best known for playing a White House reporter on the NBC political drama The West Wing and an advertising agency executive on the ABC series Thirtysomething. He also appeared in the baseball film Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner.
