Judge Dismisses Child Sexual Contact Indictment Against Actor Timothy Busfield, Citing Prosecutor Missteps

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 17 (TodayViralUSA) — A New Mexico judge has thrown out the indictment charging Emmy-winning actor and director Timothy Busfield with child sexual contact, ruling that prosecutors mishandled the grand jury proceedings, though the decision leaves the door open for new charges.

State District Judge Joseph Montano on Friday granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the four-count indictment, which accused the “The West Wing” and “thirtysomething” actor of criminal sexual contact of a child. Busfield has consistently denied the allegations.

Grand jury problems

In a six-page order, Montano found that “the prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner,” including by failing to properly instruct grand jurors on the law for calling witnesses. He said jurors had asked to hear from witnesses the state did not present, and that the prosecutor used an “unexplained procedure” to effectively withhold that evidence.

The judge wrote that the proceedings violated statutes designed to protect “the structural integrity of our grand jury system,” and that a presumption of prejudice therefore applied.

The order allows the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Bernalillo County, led by Sam Bregman, to institute new criminal proceedings. “Our office has received the order and is evaluating our options to determine how we will proceed,” a spokesperson said.

Background of the case

The charges stemmed from allegations by the parents of two boys who worked as child actors on the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady,” which Busfield directed and produced. Prosecutors alleged he touched one of the boys inappropriately between October 2022 and September 2023, when the child was under 13.

Busfield surrendered to authorities in Albuquerque in January and was later released pending trial after a judge rejected prosecutors’ flight-risk concerns. He was indicted in February. His defense team submitted more than 70 character letters and said he had passed a polygraph examination. Each count in the dismissed indictment carried a maximum sentence of six years.