Timothy Busfield's indictment dismissed after judge finds prosecutors "failed to act in a fair and impartial manner"

A judge has dismissed the indictment against Timothy Busfield on child sex abuse charges, ruling that prosecutors failed to act impartially during grand jury proceedings.

Timothy Busfield was indicted in February over allegations that he groped a 7-year-old boy on the set of The Cleaning Lady, a Fox television series on which he worked as a director. He has maintained his innocence.

In the ruling, the judge criticized the prosecution’s handling of the grand jury process, finding its conduct violated statutes intended to protect the integrity of the proceedings. The judge wrote:

“The prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner, including the failure to properly instruct the grand jury on the law for calling witnesses and in instructing the grand jurors on a procedure that effectively withheld requested witnesses.”

The Judge further stated that the proceedings amounted to violation of the laws governing grand jury proceedings, which gave rise to the presumption of prejudice.

The issue in the case revolves around the manner in which the prosecutors conducted the grand jury proceedings, and not whether Timothy Busfield was guilty.

The dismissal means that the case has been dropped. However, this decision does not indicate whether the prosecutors can retry the case or not.

Timeline: The Timothy Busfield case

In November 2024, an investigation was initiated in New Mexico after a hospital doctor reported concerns following disclosures by the mother of twin child actors who worked on the set of The Cleaning Lady.

Then, in January 2026, Albuquerque police filed an arrest warrant for Timothy Busfield. He turned himself in a week later, although he was initially held on charges including criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse.

The following month, a Bernalillo County grand jury formally indicted Timothy Busfield on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child under age 13, which supersedes the initial police charges.

At the time, he released a video of himself, where he denied all allegations.

"I'm going to fight it. I'm going to fight it with a great team, and I'm going to 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. I love everybody for supporting me, thank you."

The director pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations.

Amid his legal battle, Timothy Busfield’s wife, Melissa Gilbert, publicly backed her husband. Per her publicist, she vowed to support Busfield.

“Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time. Any purported ‘statements’ circulating online — including AI-generated deepfakes of her ‘breaking her silence’ — should not be treated as coming from her.”

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The actress’ rep continued:

“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. Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”

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