What are the charges against Timothy Busfield? Emmy-winning actor accused of misconduct involving minors

Authorities in Albuquerque have issued an arrest warrant for Timothy Busfield on charges of sexual abuse of a minor.

Per the court documents lodged in November 2024, the Emmy-winning actor and director faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and an open count of child abuse. The sexual contact charges reportedly involve a child under 13.

The legal filings state that a University of New Mexico Hospital doctor alerted the police at the time, and one officer was dispatched and talked to the parents of the children, who were actors on the TV series The Cleaning Lady. According to the officer, Timothy Busfield, the show's director, "grew closer to the boys."

The warrant, filed on Jan. 4, adds that the actor-director "would tell the children to call him 'Uncle Tim'" and would go around tickling them on the stomach and legs, despite the children not liking it. The university doctor also says, according to the documents, that Timothy Busfield appears to have groomed the alleged victims.

Timothy Busfield, 68, is known for his movies, Stripes (1981), Field of Dreams (1989), Sneakers (1992), and Little Big League (1994). He also headlined the ABC series, thirtysomething, from 1987 to 1991.

He helmed multiple series, such as Sports Night (1998-2000), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007), This Is Us (2017), Without a Trace (2002-2009), and The Cleaning Lady (2022, 2024-2025), as well as the movies Maneater (2009) and Guest Artist (2019).

He also has directing credits in Lizzie McGuire, Las Vegas, Designated Survivor, and Nashville.

Meanwhile, Timothy Busfield is married to Melissa Gilbert. They have no children together, though both of them share kids with their previous partners.

Timothy Busfield on becoming an actor: "I gave it my all"

The arrest comes a year after Timothy Busfield stood as the keynote speaker and received an honorary doctorate from East Tennessee State University, where he was a theater student from 1978 to 1979.

Amid his return to the campus for its 2024 commencement exercises, he revealed what inspired him to pursue acting.

"I was six years old and went by myself to see Burt Lancaster in a pirate movie. I came home and announced at the dinner table, 'I'm going to be a movie star.' My family nodded, and then we went back to eating. I didn't know what an actor was; I only knew movie star."

He continued, recalling a play during high school and, in turn, falling in love with the craft.

"My freshman year of high school, we adapted A Charlie Brown Christmas in our English class, and they brought in all the K-3 students from East Lansing to watch the play. I fell in love with that audience. At the end of my senior year, I did Guys and Dolls, and I was at home on that stage. Then I went to East Tennessee State, auditioned for a play, got a part, and it took off from right there. I dug in and I gave it my all, and it was there that I transitioned into becoming an actor."

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When asked to deliver a message to the graduates who are just starting in their careers, Timothy Busfield brought up patience.

"So often, when success doesn't come right away, it can make people want to give up. Too often, we slow down at the thought of failure, and it keeps people from pursuing dreams because they want their dreams to come true right away. Craft requires repetition and failure. I think patience is the most important thing, and it can only go with perspiration."

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