Timothy Busfield is facing a new charge of sexual assault as the actor appears in court

Timothy Busfield made his first appearance in a New Mexico court Wednesday as prosecutors outlined a new sexual assault lawsuit against the Emmy-winning actor.

Busfield, 68, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse for allegedly inappropriately touching two child actors while serving as director and executive producer of Fox’s drama “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in Albuquerque. He is being held without bond pending a hearing on a request for pretrial detention.

In that motion, prosecutors argued that Busfield should be jailed pending trial because of what they called a “continuous pattern of abusive behavior” dating back to at least 1994. That year, a 17-year-old extra in the movie “Little Big League” accused Busfield of sexually assaulting her in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles private court.

Most recently, a man named Colin Swift reported to law enforcement on Tuesday that, years ago, Busfield sexually assaulted Swift’s then-16-year-old daughter during an audition at the B Street Theater in Sacramento, the motion said. Swift alleges that Busfield begged the family not to report the abuse to law enforcement if he received treatment, and they initially agreed, the report said.

No charges have been filed against Busfield in connection with that incident.

Busfield founded B Street Theater as a touring company called Theater for Children Inc. in 1986, according to its website. Although he is counted as an outstanding board member, he has not participated in this organization since 2001, and this incident that was recently reported to the police is suspected to have happened 25 years ago, according to a statement from B Street Theatre. The theater has retained an attorney to conduct an internal investigation, the statement said.

Prosecutors allege Busfield’s conduct “demonstrates a calculated method of grooming, lack of restraint, and abuse of professional authority to reach children,” according to the pretrial motion. The witnesses said they were afraid of retaliation and damage to their work by speaking ill of him, showing “how people in positions cannot silence victims and witnesses, and allow the abuse to continue unchecked,” they wrote.

A representative for Busfield could not be reached Wednesday. His lawyer Stanton “Larry” Stein previously said in a statement that the actor is innocent and “willing to clear his name.” He also referred to an affidavit in which Busfield suggested to investigators that the mother of the child actors may have sought “revenge” against the director for “not bringing her children back for the final season.”

The actor, known for his work on the television series “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething,” turned himself in Tuesday, prosecutors say, five days after he knew a judge had issued a warrant for his arrest. During that time, Busfield traveled from New York to New Mexico to avoid the extradition process and turn himself in at the right time, the motion said.

He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque, where he remained Wednesday.

Busfield is accused of inappropriately touching two of the actors’ children, who are siblings, on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” according to the affidavit. Their mother reported that the abuse occurred from November 2022 to the spring of 2024, according to the complaint. Police began an investigation in November 2024 after being notified of allegations of abuse by a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital.

According to prosecutors, “Cleaning Lady” producer Warner Bros. conducted an investigation into Busfield’s conduct in February 2025 after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists filed an anonymous complaint that the director entered a trailer on set and kissed a 6-year-old boy on the face while he was cutting hair. One caller to the hotline said that, in September 2024, Busfield asked a parent to wait outside and took a young child — one of the suspects in the New Mexico case — behind closed doors for an inspection of the Cinelease Studios office in Albuquerque, according to the motion.

A third-party investigator retained by Warner Bros., however, found no evidence that Busfield was alone with the brothers at the time or engaged in other inappropriate behavior, according to the investigator’s statement released by Stein, Busfield’s attorney. But the detective failed to talk to one of the victims and his parents, as well as important witnesses, prosecutors allege in the motion.

Warner Bros. Television said in a statement that it takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and is cooperating with law enforcement by expediting the sharing of the report by its third-party investigator, which it would have reserved as a privilege. The studio has a clear non-retaliation policy to ensure employees feel free to report concerns, the statement said. “Most important to us is the health and safety of our cast and crew in all productions,” she said.

Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, was also accused of the crime in March 2012 by a 28-year-old woman who said he sexually assaulted her at a Los Angeles theater, but prosecutors declined to press charges because of “little evidence,” according to a pretrial motion.

A plea hearing, where a judge will decide whether Busfield remains in prison, will be scheduled in 2nd District Court in Albuquerque within the next five days, said Camille Cordova, public information officer for Bernalillo County Municipal Court.

Before turning himself in, Busfield recorded a video in his lawyer’s office where he denied the allegations. “I’m going to face these lies,” he said in a video published by TMZ, “they’re bad.”

Prosecutors called the move “worrisome” and said it showed a “willingness to prioritize personal narrative control and public relations” over compliance with court procedures.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.