West Wing star Timothy Busfield surrenders to police but insists he is innocent of child sex abuse charges
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Giovanni Rufino via Getty Images
Actor Timothy Busfield has surrendered himself to authorities four days after they obtained a warrant for his arrest in connection with allegations of child sexual abuse.
The West Wing actor is accused of having inappropriately touched 11-year-old twin boys on the set of The Cleaning Lady, which Busfield appeared in and also directed.
As well as one count of child abuse, the actor is facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
As of Tuesday (January 13), Busfield surrendered himself voluntarily to the New Mexico police.
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"Timothy Busfield has turned himself in at the Metro Detention Center. He will be booked on his warrant," Gilbert Gallegos, Director of Communications for Albuquerque Police Department, confirmed in a statement.
The actor has denied all allegations against him and issued a video attempting to clear his name and professing his innocence.
In the video, which was obtained by TMZ, he said: "I did not do anything wrong.”
"Hi everybody, it's Tim," the video began. "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."
He continued, "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."
The criminal allegations against Busfield date back to November 1 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged sexual abuse.
According to the warrant, the parents of the children said that they would frequently refer to Busfield as 'Uncle Tim'.
An affidavit alleged: "The boys advised that Timothy Busfield, whom they referred to as 'Uncle Tim', would tickle them on the stomach and legs. Neither boy cared for the tickling."
One of the boys also claimed that touching would be masked 'as play', with the affidavit stating he has since been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and was having nightmares 'about the director touching him'.
According to the warrant, Busfield denied the allegations against him and allegedly told police that the parents were upset their sons had been replaced with a younger actor who auditioned.
The actor also alleged that he'd been told by an actress on the show that the mother of the alleged victims ‘wanted revenge'.
In a statement to UNILAD, Warner Bros. said it 'will continue to cooperate with law enforcement' following Busfield's arrest warrant.
It added in a statement: "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action."
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.