Trending Now: Timothy Busfield’s wife Melissa Gilbert, costars offer support letters – Fans React

Timothy Busfield is standing firm in his defense against allegations of child sexual abuse with strong support from his wife, Melissa Gilbert, and his Thirtysomething cast mates.

Busfield faced a judge for the first time since turning himself in on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse on Wednesday. Despite previously declaring his innocence, the actor did not enter a plea at the hearing, and the judge ordered that he be held without bond until his next hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20.

In a new filing obtained and reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Busfield’s attorneys hit back at New Mexico’s motion to hold him for pretrial detention and provide 75 letters of support for the 68-year-old West Wing alum written by Gilbert and his former Thirtysomething costars Peter Horton and Ken Olin.

“The State’s attempt to transform responsible self-surrender into aggravating conduct only underscores the absence of genuine evidence of dangerousness,” states an opposition filing placed in the New Mexico courts seeking to blunt prosecutors’ pretrial efforts to keep Busfield, who is currently in custody, imprisoned up to and during a trial for the felony claims.

“The Motion asks the Court to imprison a man based on a story that has already collapsed under independent scrutiny,” the filing from Albuquerque attorneys Amber Fayerberg and Christopher Dodd reads. “The State offers no reliable proof — only allegations advanced by witnesses with documented histories of fraud and financial exploitation, contradicted by a comprehensive studio investigation, and refuted by witnesses and objective risk assessments. The Constitution does not allow liberty to be forfeited on such a foundation. The State’s Motion should be denied.”

Busfield’s lawyers argue that the actor previously passed a “court-qualified” polygraph test and that Warner Bros.’ independent investigation into the accusations from two child actors on Fox’s now-canceled series The Cleaning Lady found the allegations unfounded.

The lawyers state, “For all of these reasons — the independent investigation that undermined the State’s allegations at every turn, the affirmative findings of the polygraph and ABEL assessment, the overwhelming evidence of character and community support, and the absence of any reliable proof of dangerousness — the State cannot meet its burden of clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably protect the community. The Constitution requires release under appropriate conditions.”

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Despite at least one new claim emerging since Busfield was charged, Gilbert, who deactivated some of her social media accounts following the accusations, offered support for her husband in one of 75 letters for the actor-director from “colleagues, educators, parents, neighbors, and family” who have reportedly known Busfield “for years — and in many instances for decades.”

In her letter, Gilbert began by identifying herself as Busfield’s wife and explaining that they briefly met in the 1980s before falling in love in 2012. “The reality is that Tim Busfield is my love, my rock, my partner in business and life,” she wrote. “He is my comfort and my council. His joy, humor, and quick wit bring sparkle to my life. Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.”

“Tim has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known,” she continued, in part. “He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others. He starts every day with kindness and compassion.”

She added that on “every single set where Tim is working,” she has been approached by “multiple people” who say he is “their favorite director ever.”

“Actually, people say that to me in restaurants, on red carpets, and in grocery stores too,” she wrote. “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, tell me they encountered my husband in some way and he is their favorite. He is my favorite.”

“This is the strangest letter I’ve ever had to write,” Gilbert acknowledged. “I began this letter with logic, but now the feelings have taken over. I can’t help it. 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 you to protect him for me.”

Busfield’s Hollywood peers, including director Edward Zwick and his fellow actors, praised his virtues as an actor, a director, and a costar.

“Timothy is my friend, so no doubt I’m biased,” his Thirtysomething costar Ken Olin wrote in a letter also included in the filing. “But I know him well, through many years and many changing life circumstances, and he has always been a man who cares about other people — old and young. And I know in the very bottom of my heart that Timothy would never do anything to cruelly exploit or harm anyone, let alone a child.”

Another Thirtysomething cast member, Peter Horton, praised Busfield as “not only a great actor and a really good director,” but also “a good man. Through and though.”

He continued, “I’ve watched him work as a director and admired, even learned from, how beautifully he respects and supports his actors. I’ve watched him as he met, married, then divorced his wife. Watched how he dealt with that with such grace and gentleness in the face of friction. I’ve watched him raise his children, especially his son, Willy, with tenderness, attentiveness, and watched him lead them by example. By being a good man. In fact, I know how important it is for his kids, friends, and frankly the public at large to see him for who he is — a good man.”

Horton noted that his perspective comes as “not only a fellow artist and friend, but as a fellow father of two girls, who knows the power and necessity of having a good dad. So I say this with the perspective of a long history with Tim, as a friend, and as a fellow father. Tim is a good man.”

“I hope against hope this is helpful to you given your challenge of having to evaluate Tim in such a short time and with so little opportunity to know him,” he concluded. “For most of us, it takes time and experience to get to know if a person is good or not. For some it’s much more obvious from the start. Goodness just fills them naturally. So for what it’s worth to you, as I’m sure you’ll hear from all of us who’ve known him over the years, Tim is one of those good ones where it’s obvious. My hope and prayer in this diIicult [sic] time is that you’ll see it too.”

According to his arrest warrant obtained and reviewed by EW, an investigation into Busfield began in November 2024 after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital alerted police about alleged sexual abuse. The victims’ parents told Officer Marvin Brown that the 11-year-old twin boys were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady, for which he served as a director and an executive producer.

If found guilty of the alleged child abuse, Busfield could face at least three years in state prison. Under New Mexico’s statutes, sentencing time and felony class can go up significantly in sex crimes if the case involves children under the age of 13 — as this case allegedly does.