A judge in New Mexico on Friday dismissed child sexual abuse charges against the actor and director Timothy Busfield, after finding flaws in how the prosecution had presented the case to a grand jury.
Mr. Busfield has vehemently denied the accusations of sexual abuse, and his lawyers had sought the dismissal of the indictment, which was filed in February.
In a written order, Judge Joseph Montano of the Second Judicial District Court of New Mexico said the prosecutor in charge of the proceedings had “failed to act in a fair and impartial manner,” including by not properly instructing grand jurors on the procedures for calling additional witnesses.
The case stems from the set of the “The Cleaning Lady,” a Fox crime drama filmed in New Mexico that Mr. Busfield started directing in 2022.
Prosecutors had accused Mr. Busfield of repeatedly touching the genitals and backside of one of the show’s child actors, who worked on the set alongside his twin brother and who told the authorities that he was 7 and 8 years old at the time.
Mr. Busfield had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The post Judge Dismisses Child Sexual Abuse Charges Against Timothy Busfield appeared first on New York Times.
