Timothy Busfield faces a new claim of sexual abuse after a pretrial detention motion was filed, claiming that a 16-year-old girl was one of his alleged victims. The 68-year-old turned himself in to the police on Tuesday after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Friday.
He was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The charges relate to a claim made by the mother of 11-year-old twins that Timothy allegedly groomed and assaulted them when they joined the cast of FOX’s The Cleaning Lady, which The West Wing star directed in season 2.
In the new assault claim, the district attorney’s office for Bernalillo County accused Timothy of inappropriately touching a then 16-year-old girl when she auditioned for a role at the B Street Theatre in California, the theatre which he founded in 1986. He is still a board member there.
This assault allegedly occurred several years ago, and the filing claims that the victim’s father reported the incident to authorities on Tuesday after Timothy surrendered to police.
According to the filing, the girl and her father originally agreed not to report Timothy as he claimed he would receive therapy. Prosecutors in Timothy’s case claimed that he was able to commit these alleged crimes due to the power structures in the film industry.
“The Defendant’s history of alleged sexual misconduct spanning more than two decades, coupled with the fear expressed by witnesses regarding retaliation and professional harm, illustrates how individuals in positions of power are able to silence victims and witnesses, allowing abuse to persist unchecked,” their statement read.
© Getty ImagesTimothy’s lawyer shared in a statement on Wednesday: “Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false. As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed.”
Following his arrest in Albuquerque on Tuesday, TMZ obtained a video created by Timothy, in which he addresses his supporters and denies the allegations made against him regarding the twin boys.
© Getty Images“Hi everybody, it’s Tim,” his video began. “I’m sure most of you know, that are watching this, that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I’m here now. I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer. Saturday I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m gonna confront these lies. They’re horrible.”
He continued: “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.”
© NBCUniversal via Getty Images“So hang in there, and hopefully I’m out real soon and back to work. I love everybody for supporting me, thank you,” he concluded.
A representative from Warner Bros. Television, the network that aired The Cleaning Lady, also shared a statement following Timothy’s arrest.
© Bruce Glikas/Getty Images“”The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions,” it read.
“We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. [We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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