Timothy Busfield will not be detained while he awaits trial for his child sex abuse charges, a judge ruled in a pretrial detention hearing Tuesday.
Bernalillo County District Court Judge David A. Murphy ruled Tuesday that “The West Wing” alum would not remain behind bars while he awaited his trial, despite New Mexico prosecutors recommending that he remained a public threat.
The decision came after the “West Wing” actor and “The Cleaning Lady” director-producer submitted letters advocating for his character and defense attorneys alleged he took and passed a polygraph test over the charges.
Busfield was charged with two counts of child sex abuse last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from alleged incidents on set of “The Cleaning Lady.” The incidents involved two minor twin boys who acted on the Fox series. He directed six episodes of the series from 2022 to 2025 and executive produced 14 episodes.
Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch argued that the actor was dangerous and community safety could not be assured. She added that the boys’ disclosures to a doctor and therapist were specific and “not exaggerated.”
Busfield has maintained his innocence of any wrongdoing.
“I’m going to confront these lies,” he said a video statement. “They are horrible. They are all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys.”
Busfield added: “I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated … I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies. So hang in there and hopefully I’m out real soon and back to work.”
On Monday, it was announced that Busfield was edited out of the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios rom-com “You Deserve Each Other.” Penn Badgley and Meghann Fahy are set to lead the film, based on Sarah Hogle’s bestselling 2020 novel of the same name. Busfield was set to play Fahy’s father in the rom-com.
