Actor Timothy Busfield faces child sex abuse charges in New Mexico

This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.

Actor and director Timothy Busfield has been charged with child sex abuse after New Mexico authorities issued an arrest warrant Friday, according to media reports.

An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint for a case involving two minors who were part of the series "The Cleaning Lady," which Busfield directed, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported.

Busfield is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. 

The abuse allegedly occurred between late 2022 and early 2024, according to the criminal complaint. One child alleged that Busfield had touched his genitals several times. Both say Busfield touched them inappropriately.

Alleged child sex abuse occurred on set of ‘The Cleaning Lady’

The children's mother reported the incidents to Child Protective Services, The New York Times reported. According to the complaint, one child has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and feared disclosing the alleged abuse because of retaliation from Busfield. In 2024, University of New Mexico Hospital staff members requested an investigation because it appeared the boys were being groomed.

According to the affidavit, Busfield acknowledged to police in a phone interview that the set was a “playful environment” and that he had probably tickled the boys. He suggested the allegations were revenge because the boys were fired from the show. Production assistants told the Albuquerque Police that Busfield was sometimes touchy or unprofessional, the affidavit said.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department and representatives for Busfield for comment.

“The Cleaning Lady” ran for four seasons from 2022 to 2025. It starred Elodie Young as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the U.S. for medical treatment to save her son and becomes a cleaning lady for organized crime.

Busfield is married to “Little House on the Prairie” alum Melissa Gilbert. He is known for roles in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” for which he won an Emmy in 1991.