The actor and director Timothy Busfield evidently remained at large on Tuesday, four days after New Mexico authorities obtained a warrant to arrest him on child sexual abuse allegations, and US marshals are reportedly helping search for him.
Albuquerque police told outlets including Deadline and People that its officers were working with the marshals – who specialize in capturing fugitive criminal suspects – to take Busfield into custody. The agency did not offer a timeline for when Busfield, an Emmy winner, may be arrested in connection with a case that has gained attention across the US entertainment industry and beyond.
Busfield is considered wanted by law enforcement after investigators secured an arrest warrant accusing him of three criminal counts: two of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one of child abuse.
A sworn police statement summarizing the accusations against Busfield said they stem from two 11-year-old twin brothers he met on the set of The Cleaning Lady, a TV series he directed and acted in.
Identified by the initials SL and VL, the boys allege that Busfield touched them inappropriately, according to the police affidavit, which was first reported on by multiple news outlets.
SL allegedly said Busfield masked the touching “as play” on multiple occasions, the 12-page police affidavit read. The affidavit said SL was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and would wake up scared from nightmares “about the director touching him”.
Police began scrutinizing Busfield in November 2024, when one of their investigators responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico hospital. A law firm had recommended that the children’s parents go there, and their mother reported to child protective services that the abuse attributed to Busfield had occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024.
The affidavit said Busfield gave police a statement about the allegations against him.
He allegedly claimed he had been told by The Cleaning Lady’s lead actor, Elodie Yung, that SL and VL’s mother wanted “revenge … for bringing her kids back” to the show. And he also allegedly denied remembering “overtly tickling the boys ever”. Though he also said “it wouldn’t be uncommon” if he had given the playful work environment on set, according to the sworn statement – and in fact he allegedly indicated it was “highly likely that he would have”.
Albuquerque police officer Marvin Kirk Brown received the warrant to arrest Busfield midday on Friday.
Busfield’s arrest warrant noted that he has publicly faced sexual assault accusations at least twice previously.
In 1994, the affidavit noted, a 17-year-old extra on the movie Little Big League claimed Busfield served her alcohol despite her being underage and allegedly assaulted her. The affidavit said Busfield – one of the film’s stars – countersued for extortion and settled privately, and it alluded to his having been ordered to pay $150,000 in costs after he unsuccessfully argued that the case had been fabricated.
Separately, in 2012, a 28-year-old woman alleged Busfield fondled her under her clothes at a movie theater in Los Angeles, Brown said in his affidavit. Busfield claimed she consented and prosecutors declined to pursue a case, and there was no civil litigation, according to Brown’s affidavit.
The Cleaning Lady’s run on Fox ended in 2025 after four seasons. Yung starred as a Cambodian doctor who comes to the US to get medical treatment for her son, witnesses a mob killing and proceeds to become an organized crime cleaner.
Warner Bros produced the show. Brown’s affidavit says the studio conducted its own investigation into Busfield but couldn’t corroborate the allegations.
Busfield’s most prominent acting credits are The West Wing, Field of Dreams and Thirtysomething. His work on Thirtysomething earned him the 1991 Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series.
He is married to the actor Melissa Gilbert, who listened to Busfield as he gave Albuquerque police his statement about the allegations against him via speaker phone, according to Brown’s affidavit.
Gilbert had apparently deactivated her Instagram account as of Sunday.
Meanwhile, NBC has shelved a Law & Order: SVU episode that was scheduled to air on Thursday guest-starring Busfield as a judge.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
• In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
