A judge in New Mexico on Friday issued a warrant for the arrest of Timothy Busfield, an actor and director, on charges of child sex abuse.
The case involves two boys who were actors on a television set in the state, where Mr. Busfield, 68, was acting and directing.
The warrant, signed by a Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court judge in Albuquerque, approved the arrest of Mr. Busfield, court records show. He was not in custody as of Friday night, said Detective Chase Jewell, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department.
Mr. Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse after two child actors said he had touched them inappropriately over a period of years, a police affidavit said.
The boys, who are both 11 and related, were part of the Fox crime drama “The Cleaning Lady,” for which Mr. Busfield was an executive producer and an actor. One of the boys said that Mr. Busfield had touched his genitals starting when he was 7, according to the affidavit.
Mr. Busfield’s lawyer and agents did not immediately respond to requests for comment early Saturday, nor did representatives at Warner Bros., which produced the show.
Mr. Busfield won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in “Thirtysomething,” which aired on ABC for four years, beginning in 1987. He is also known for his portrayal of a journalist on “The West Wing.”
The police investigation into Mr. Busfield began in 2024 after officers responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where staff members requested a sexual-abuse investigation and said it appeared the boys were being groomed, according to the affidavit.
One of the boys told a therapist, a pediatrician and a forensic interviewer that Mr. Busfield had entered the bedroom on the television set and touched his penis and buttocks over his clothing, the affidavit said. Both boys said in forensic interviews that Mr. Busfield had touched them inappropriately.
In October, the boys’ mother reported to child protective services that both children said Mr. Busfield had touched them between late 2022 and early 2024, according to the affidavit. One of the boys said the touching was sexual.
According to the affidavit, Mr. Busfield acknowledged to the police in a phone interview that he probably tickled the boys, describing the set as a “playful environment.” He suggested that the allegations were a form of revenge by the boys’ mother after the children were terminated from the show, the affidavit said.
Production assistants told the police that Mr. Busfield was sometimes touchy or unprofessional, the affidavit said. The police said the designated set teacher frequently lost track of the boys, potentially allowing Mr. Busfield to be alone with them, according to the document.
The affidavit said that Warner Bros. made it difficult for investigators to obtain information and delayed complying with a court order to release records from an internal investigation, and that employees feared retaliation for speaking with the police.
It cited news reports describing earlier sexual assault allegations against Mr. Busfield in 1994 and 2012, neither of which resulted in charges.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
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