Featured Image Credit: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, Sexual Abuse
Britt Jones
The Cleaning Lady actor Timothy Busfield has been accused of abusing a girl, with her father revealing shocking details, after he was charged with allegedly sexually abusing 11-year-old twins.
Busfield, 68, is currently facing allegations of two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor, and one count of child abuse after being accused of abusing minors. His arrest warrant claimed the actor was engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old brothers who worked alongside him on the show.
However, according to a pretrial detention motion filed on January 14, ‘another victim's father’ reported to law enforcement that Busfield had allegedly abused his daughter ‘several years ago’ in Sacramento, California.
"While auditioning for [Busfield] at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that [Busfield] kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates," the motion said.
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Speaking with Inside Edition, the father of the victim claimed his daughter was an intern in 2001 when the alleged crime took place.
He claimed: “She climbed a little ladder and Tim was below her looking up. She told me she was pulled down. He spun her around. It was reported that he kissed her. It wasn’t a kiss. It was a violation.”
When she revealed what had happened to her father, Busfield allegedly ‘begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy,’ and the father, being a ‘therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do’. He also told the outlet that he didn’t report Busfield to the police, which made him feel ‘guilty’.
Busfield has strongly denied all allegations against him and even issued a video shortly before he surrendered himself to authorities, with his wife, Melissa Gilbert, standing by him.
In the video, which was obtained by TMZ, he can be seen saying: "Hi everybody, it's Tim.
"I'm sure most of you know, that are watching this, that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I'm here now. I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer. Saturday, I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I'm gonna confront these lies. They're horrible.
"They're all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys, and I'm gonna fight it. I'm gonna fight it with a great team, and I'm gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies."
He concluded by saying: "So hang in there, and hopefully I'm out real soon and back to work. I love everybody for supporting me, thank you."
A preliminary hearing will take place on January 29.
UNILAD has previously reached out to Busfield's representatives for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.