Timothy Busfield is finally being released from custody. After a two-hour pretrial detention hearing in a San Bernalillo, New Mexico district court on Tuesday, January 20th, a judge ruled that the 68-year-old actor would be released under certain conditions as he awaits trial on charges of child sex abuse.
"Given the absence of a pattern involving children in this case, I believe that different conditions of release can address the situation," the judge said in delivering his decision. "I don't believe there's been sufficient evidence to prove that this defendant may commit new crimes if released pending trial. There's no evidence of a pattern of criminal conduct. There are no similar allegations involving children in his past. There's no evidence of non-compliance with prior court orders."
The judge continued, "On the contrary, this defendant surrendered himself and submitted himself to this court's jurisdiction, demonstrating compliance with the court order for his arrest. I cannot find that the state has proven by clear and convincing evidence that there are no release conditions that would reasonably protect the safety of any younger person in the community."
After being released on his own recognizance, Busfield has been ordered to appear for all future court dates and is prohibited from possessing any firearms or dangerous weapons, consuming any alcohol or illegal drugs, having contact with the alleged victims or their families, discussing the case with any witnesses, or having unsupervised contact with any minor children. The judge has allowed Busfield to travel, but he will be under the supervision of Pretrial Services in New Mexico and must notify the court of his address.
Upon hearing the news, Busfield's wife, Melissa Gilbert, was seen crying and whispering, "Thank you, God." Gilbert supported her husband from the courtroom, along with her 89-year-old mother Barbara Cowan, her son Michael Boxleitner, and Busfield's civil lawyer Larry Stein. Busfield's brother, Buck Busfield, was also in attendance at the hearing.
Gilbert previously voiced her support for her husband in a letter to the judge in his case. In the defendant's response in opposition to the state's motion for pretrial detention filed on January 16th, Gilbert was one of 75 people who wrote letters of support. She called Busfield "my love, my rock, my partner in business and life," adding that she knows him "better and more intimately than anything in his life ever has."
"I am trying to find a balance between logic and all the emotions swirling through me. I began this letter with logic, but now the emotions have taken over. I can't help it," she wrote. "I only want this extraordinary man safe and whole. So, I will close by asking you to please, please, take care of my sweet husband. As he is my protector, I am his, but I cannot protect him now, and I think that, more than anything else, is what is truly breaking my heart. I am relying on you to protect him for me."
Busfield first appeared in front of a judge on Wednesday, January 14th, shortly after he was officially charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor (child under 13) and one count of child abuse on January 13th, according to prosecutors.
Busfield turned himself in to authorities on January 13th after an arrest warrant was issued by the Albuquerque Police Department on January 9th. He was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse on allegations that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys. According to the warrant issued by the APD, one of the victims alleged that the incidents began when he was 7 years old.
Busfield spoke out about the allegations in a video obtained by TMZ on January 13th, filmed shortly before he surrendered to law enforcement in New Mexico. "They're all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I'm gonna fight it. 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," he said at the time.
Per the warrant, while speaking with Officer Marvin Kirk Brown, the parents of the two boys said the kids were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX series The Cleaning Lady. Following the allegations laid out in the warrant, another accusation of sexual abuse was leveled against Busfield in a pretrial detention motion filed on January 14th. A father, Colin Swift, reported to law enforcement on January 13th that the actor allegedly sexually abused Swift's daughter.
Busfield's civil attorney Larry Stein shared a statement with PEOPLE that the allegations "were never challenged, they were never proved, and they’re 25 years old."
