According to Deadline, Timothy Busfield is facing another claim of alleged child sexual abuse as he prepares to appear in court. Bushfield is currently incarcerated after turning himself in on Tuesday. He has refuted the claims and proclaimed innocence. Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bergman filed motions to keep Bushfield detained for the foreseeable future due to the fact that “no conditions of release will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community.” In a filing this morning, law enforcement claimed that Warner Brothers has maintained “limited cooperation” with the ongoing investigation to date.
Deadline reported that the arrest warrant was issued on January 9th, charging Busfield with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. The charges state that Bushfield touched a boy’s “poop” and “pee” area. If convicted, Bushfield could face decades in prison. The alleged incident happened during the filming of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady. Before he turned himself over to New Mexico authorities, Busfield stated, “I did not do anything to those little boys.”
According to Deadline, Busfield appeared via video this afternoon in front of Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera. He pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime. Bergman and Deputy DA Savannah Brandenburg-Koch have another claim of alleged child sex abuse that surfaced since the Bushfields’ arrest. These claims are outside Bergman’s jurisdiction, but will likely be used by the DA to highlight a pattern of predatory behavior.
“Another victim’s father, Colin Swift, reported to law enforcement on January 13, 2026, reporting sexual abuse of their daughter that occurred several years ago at the hands of the defendant in Sacramento, CA,” Wednesday’s filing states. “While auditioning for the defendant at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that the defendant kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates. The defendant begged the family not report to law enforcement if he received therapy. Colin Swift, a therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”, via Deadline.
“The Defendant poses an ongoing and serious danger to children and the community,” the state’s motion for pretrial detention says. “His conduct reflects a calculated pattern of grooming, lack of boundaries, and exploitation of professional authority to gain access to minors,” it adds in favor of keeping Busfield locked up. “Witnesses in this investigation expressed fear of retaliation and career harm for reporting the Defendant’s conduct, further underscoring his ability to intimidate and silence others.” via Deadline.
Deadline has reported that Busfield has been accused of sexual misconduct twice before in 1994 and 2012. One of these allegations regarded a 17-year-old girl. Neither case led to criminal charges, but one required Busfield to pay $150,000 in legal fees after he attempted to countersue.
According to Deadline, the Albuquerque police department did not mince words when addressing Warner Bros. ’ handling of an anonymous tip about Busfield placed via the SAG-AFTRA hotline in 2024.
“During the investigation that Warner Brothers conducted, they failed to speak with key witnesses, VL or his parents,” they allege.
“The Defendant’s history of alleged sexual misconduct spanning more than two decades, coupled with the fear expressed by witnesses regarding retaliation and professional harm, illustrates how individuals in positions of power are able to silence victims and witnesses, allowing abuse to persist unchecked,” the DA’s office wrote, noting that the APD investigation that has been ongoing since late 2024 to varying degrees. “The delayed and limited cooperation by Warner Bros. in responding to a search warrant further underscores the institutional barriers that have historically enabled this type of misconduct to continue,” it continued, citing an outside law firm report that WBTV instigated and that police complained took far too long to be handed over.
Put together by the Los Angeles office of the Solomon law firm, the WBTV investigation, which saw Busfield suspended for a period, examined the hotline caller’s claims that there was evidence of the director/EP “tickling and caressing the head and body of minor boys” while working on the Albuquerque-filmed Cleaning Lady. Upon his own reading of the document, Brown noted in the arrest warrant from last week that Solomon investigator “Christina McGovern was not able to talk with anyone who would support evidence that Timothy Busfield engaged in this behavior.” via Deadline.
According to Deadline, Warner Bros responded to Busfield’s arrest warrant on January 9th in a statement. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
In response to the detention motion filing, WB today said: “Our top priority is the health and safety of our cast and crew across all productions. The Studio takes any and all allegations of misconduct very seriously. In response to law enforcement requests, the Studio cooperated by expediting its processes to share the report of its third-party investigation, even though that report could have been withheld as privileged. The Studio has a clear non-retaliation policy. The Studio informs and trains production employees on this policy at the beginning of employment. The policy is implemented and monitored throughout the course of production to ensure employees feel comfortable reporting any concerns.” via Deadline.
Deadline has reported that Busfield’s defense will likely incorporate a phone interview with Brown, where he stated that lead actress of The Cleaning Lady, Elodie Yung, had said prior “the mother of SL and VL (sic) that she wanted revenge, and I’m going to get my revenge on Tim Busfield for not bringing her kids back for the final season.”