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NEED TO KNOW
Melissa Gilbert is listed as one of her husband Timothy Busfield's potential witnesses
Busfield is currently in custody in New Mexico while he awaits his pretrial detention hearing on Jan. 20
Gilbert wrote to the judge in the case asking for his "protection" while in jail
Melissa Gilbertis listed as one of her husbandTimothy Busfield's potential witnesses as he facescharges of alleged child sex abuse.
A new filing was submitted on Jan. 16 with the defendant's response in opposition to the state's motion for pretrial detention. It also included the defendant's pretrial detention hearing witness list. It included 13 people, one of which is Gilbert.
Busfield made his first court appearancebefore a judge in Bernalillo County, New Mexico on Jan. 14. He is being held without bond and remains in custody ahead of hispretrial detention hearing which is set for Jan. 20.
On Jan. 9, the Albuquerque Police Departmentissued a warrant for his arrest. Four days later, hesurrendered to authorities.He was officially chargedwith two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The warrant alleged that he engaged inunlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys.
It stated that the victims were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX seriesThe Cleaning Lady, where he served as a director. The television show ran from January 2022 until June 2025.
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Shortly before his arrest,Busfield insisted in a videoobtained byTMZthat he "did not do anything to those little boys."
"I got thecall 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 said. "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."
In the defendant's response in opposition to the state's motion for pretrial detention, 75 letters of support for the actor were included. Many were from family, colleagues and longtime friends.Gilbert also contributed a letter and voiced her support of her husband.
She called him her "love, my rock, my partner in business and life. He is my comfort and my council. His joy, humor and quick wit bring sparkle to my life," she wrote. "Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family."
"I can tell you, and anyone, that I know Tim better and more intimately than anything in his life ever has. Conversely, he knows me in the same way," she continued. "Tim has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known. He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others. He starts every day with kindness and compassion."
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She wrote that on "every single set where Tim is working," she's been approached by "multiple people" who say he is "their favorite director ever." She added, "Actually, people say that to me in restaurants, on red carpets and in grocery stores too. His former students, tell me he was their favorite teacher ever. I cannot tell you how it has warmed my heart over and over again to hear people, from so many different walks of life, tel me they encountered my husband in some way and he is their favorite. He is my favorite."
She said "one of the great joys of my life" has been watching Busfield interact with her youngest son, Michael. She said Busfield "nurtured and guided Michael." Adding that Busfield "admonished, praised, loved, consoled, cajoled, fretted, cared for, and fed my son both physically and spiritually. I will never be able to express the depth of gratitude I have to God for bringing this wonderful human into our lives."
She concluded the letter by acknowledging, "this is the strangest letter I've ever had to write.""I am trying to tow a line between logic and all the feelings swirling through me. I began this letter with logic, but now the feelings have taken over. I can't help it," she said. "I only want this extraordinary man safe and whole. So, I will close by asking you to please, please, take care of my sweet husband. As he is my protector, I am his, but I cannot protect him now and I think that, more than anything else, is what is truly breaking my heart, I am relying on your to protect him for me."
In a pretrial detention motion filed on Jan. 14 and obtained by PEOPLE,another accusation of sexual abuse was leveled against him. Colin Swift alleged to police on Jan. 13 that his daughter was sexually abused by Busfield "several years ago" in Sacramento, Calif.
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"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 reads.
Busfield allegedly "begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy," and Swift, being a "therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do." No charges were brought.
After the new allegation was filed in the pretrial detention motion,Busfield's civil attorney Larry Stein shared a statement with PEOPLE. "The allegations were never challenged, they were never proved, and they're 25 years old," Stein said. "And there doesn't seem to be any connection between these allegations regarding women 25 years ago and the allegations regarding these young boys."
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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