Melissa Gilbert is focusing her efforts on supporting her loved ones amidst her husband's legal troubles. On January 9th, a warrant was issued for Timothy Busfield's arrest by the Albuquerque Police Department, alleging that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys. Four days later, Busfield, 68, surrendered to police on January 13th.
"Timothy Busfield has turned himself in at the Metro Detention Center. He will be booked on his warrant," said Gilbert Gallegos, Director of Communications for the Albuquerque Police Department, in a statement. A representative for the "Little House on the Prairie" star then released a statement on Gilbert's behalf, noting that she is "honoring the request of Tim's lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds."
"During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family as they navigate this moment," the statement said. "Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected."
Gilbert is a mom of two and stepmom to Busfield's three children. The couple, who married in 2013, have eight grandchildren. According to a warrant obtained by PEOPLE from the APD, Officer Marvin Brown alleged that two boys, 11-year-old twins whose identities were withheld from the public, were the subjects of sex crimes by Busfield. One of the minors alleged that the incidents began when he was 7 years old, per the arrest warrant.
The victims' parents told Brown that the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX series "The Cleaning Lady," where he served as a director. The television show ran from January 2022 until June 2025. An investigation into Busfield began in November 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged sexual abuse, the warrant said.
The parents were advised by an attorney to take the children to UNMH, where they said professionals suggested the boys "were groomed," per the warrant. However, it was later determined that the case did not meet authorities' acceptance criteria at the time.
Later, in October 2025, the victims' mother filed a police report and told Child Protective Services (CPS) that "her children both disclosed that there was sexual abuse by Timothy from around November 2022 to Spring 2024." However, according to the warrant, she was told that because physical abuse had not occurred, nothing could be done.
The mother told authorities on September 2nd and September 22nd, 2025, that one of the boys told his counselor that Busfield inappropriately touched him. When one of the victims was 10 years old, his therapist diagnosed him with moderate post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety following claims of "inappropriate touching." The therapist said the child began "having nightmares about the director touching him and waking up scared," and claimed Busfield "had touched and rubbed his penis 3 or 4 times and appeared to be ashamed," per the warrant. He also suffered from bed-wetting and other behavioral issues, the warrant alleges.
During an investigation, Busfield, who is known for his role as Danny Concannon on "The West Wing," allegedly told police that the parents were upset their sons had been replaced with a younger actor who auditioned, according to the warrant. Shortly after, the actor got a call from Warner Bros., informing him they were investigating a complaint. The actor alleged that he'd been told by an actress on the show that the mother of the alleged victims "wanted revenge," per the warrant.
When asked by investigators if he ever picked up or tickled the boys, Busfield allegedly said it was "highly likely that he would have" because he wanted "a playful environment." "It's not allowed at all," Busfield allegedly told investigators of touching on set. "There is no protocol. I mean, I'm always around people, right? It would be in front of the parents."
"There would never be a weird moment about it. I don't really remember picking those boys up," he continued, per the warrant. "I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I'd pick him up, and he'd be giggling, and that would sort of get him ready to act." However, Busfield allegedly said he and his wife had a relationship with the boys and their parents "outside of work," even buying them "Christmas gifts and being together on several social functions."
The officer said in the warrant that after speaking to several people from the production, "I believe Timothy had the opportunity to be alone with SL while he was lying in the bed on the TV set." After receiving the results of Warner Bros.' internal investigation, it was documented per the warrant that an individual "claimed to have witnessed the incident in the Hair and Make-Up trailer where executive producer/director Tim Busfield entered and kissed a minor male on the face as the minor was getting a haircut" in December 2024.
"In my training and experience, pedophiles often infiltrate families under a trusted role like Timothy who, as a producer, exploited hectic film sets to tickle and touch SL on his penis and buttocks, masking it as play," Officer Brown wrote in the warrant. "He would invite the family to off-set gatherings with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent—classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy." Brown continued. "This dual tactic of charming parents while secretly violating the child builds a web of complicity that is hard to unravel, delaying detection as families trust the abuser's facade."
A representative at Warner Bros. Television told PEOPLE in a statement: "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially when it comes to the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate and take appropriate action when needed. We have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement."
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