New Mexico judge tosses charges against actor Timothy Busfield, citing prosecutor misconduct

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A New Mexico judge has dismissed an indictment against “West Wing” and “Field of Dreams” actor Timothy Busfield that accused him of criminal sexual contact with a child, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors that undermined the grand jury process.

State District Judge Joseph Montano granted a defense motion to toss the charges in a decision released Friday.

Busfield has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as lies motivated by revenge. In an email Friday, Busfield’s attorney Amanda Fayerberg said he was “relieved and grateful” after reading the judge’s decision.

Prosecutors said Friday they had not yet decided whether to pursue another indictment.

The case stems from when Busfield was directing the TV series “The Cleaning Lady” from 2022 to 2024. The parents of two twin boys who were let go from the show claimed that Busfield inappropriately touched the children on the set in Albuquerque.

According to a criminal complaint filed in January, an investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department said a boy reported that Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but he did not specify where and didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble, the complaint said.

Busfield turned himself in and was released from jail pending trial by a judge who found no pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in Busfield’s past.

Efren Landaos/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/AP/File

Director Timothy Busfield turns himself in to New Mexico authorities after being sought on child sex abuse charges

The grand jury indictment followed just weeks later, reiterating allegations that Busfield “touched or applied force to the intimate parts” of one of the boys on several occasions. The indictment allowed the case to proceed without a preliminary hearing on evidence.

Busfield’s attorneys noted that the children told police during initial interviews that Busfield didn’t touch them inappropriately and accused the boys’ parents of coaching their children to give incriminating statements after the boys lost lucrative roles on the show.

In June, Busfield’s attorneys officially asked the court to throw out the indictment, alleging in a motion that prosecutors were “willfully blind to the lack of evidence” and “invented procedural hurdles” to keep grand jurors from hearing witness testimony.

During a September hearing, Fayerberg played audio recordings of grand jurors asking to hear from additional witnesses. She said prosecutors wrongly informed jurors that subpoenas would be needed, even though those witnesses were “present, available and willing to testify.”

“The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct,” Fayerberg said.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley countered that the defense hadn’t followed the correct process for submitting evidence to a grand jury and that Busfield himself improperly and “excessively” tried to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses and exhibits during his three-hour testimony.

Metropolitan Detention Center Bernalillo County

Director Timothy Busfield appears in court for child sex abuse charges

According to the transcripts of the proceedings submitted by Busfield’s attorneys, the actor also known for appearances in “Thirtysomething” told jurors that the case had turned his life upside down and affected his entire family. He testified that he had been “canceled,” meaning he lost work and was fired by his agency.

Busfield also testified that he had nothing to hide and when asked about the allegations that he had caressed the children, he answered: “I’m saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever.”

Prosecutors had said each count in the indictment carried a possible penalty of six years in prison that could be enhanced.

“We know this may not be the end,” Fayerberg said. “If the State chooses to try again, Tim is ready, and so are those witnesses.”

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新墨西哥州一名法官驳回了对《白宫风云》和《梦幻之地》演员蒂莫西·布斯菲尔德的起诉，该起诉指控他与儿童发生性关系，理由是检察官行为不当和错误破坏了大陪审团程序。

州地方法官约瑟夫·蒙塔诺在周五公布的裁决中批准了辩方提出的撤销指控的动议。

布斯菲尔德多次否认这些指控，称其为出于报复的谎言。周五，布斯菲尔德的律师阿曼达·费尔伯格在一封电子邮件中表示，布斯菲尔德在阅读法官的判决后感到“如释重负，并心存感激”。

检察官周五表示，他们尚未决定是否提起另一项起诉。

这起案件源于布斯菲尔德在 2022 年至 2024 年执导电视剧《清洁女工》期间。两名被剧组解雇的双胞胎男孩的父母声称，布斯菲尔德在阿尔伯克基的片场对孩子们进行了不当的身体接触。

根据一月份提交的刑事诉状，阿尔伯克基警察局的一名调查员称，一名男孩报案称，布斯菲尔德在他7岁和8岁时，曾两次隔着衣服触摸他的私处。诉状称，男孩的孪生兄弟告诉警方，他也曾被布斯菲尔德触摸过，但他没有具体说明触摸部位，也没有说出来，因为他不想惹麻烦。

布斯菲尔德自首后，法官认定布斯菲尔德过去没有犯罪行为模式或涉及儿童的类似指控，因此将其释放候审。

Efren Landaos/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/美联社/文件

导演蒂莫西·布斯菲尔德在因涉嫌性侵儿童罪被通缉后，向新墨西哥州当局自首。

几周后，大陪审团提交了起诉书，重申了对巴斯菲尔德的指控，即他曾多次“触摸或强行触碰”其中一名男孩的私密部位。该起诉书使得此案无需举行初步证据听证会即可继续审理。

布斯菲尔德的律师指出，孩子们在最初的询问中告诉警方，布斯菲尔德没有对他们进行不当触摸，并指责男孩们的父母在男孩们失去在节目中收入丰厚的角色后，教唆他们做出不利于自己的陈述。

6 月，布斯菲尔德的律师正式向法院提出撤销起诉的请求，并在动议中声称检察官“故意对缺乏证据视而不见”，并“捏造程序障碍”以阻止大陪审团听取证人证词。

在9月份的一次听证会上，费尔伯格播放了大陪审团成员要求传唤更多证人的录音。她说，检方错误地告知陪审团需要发出传票，尽管这些证人“都在场，可以出庭作证，并且愿意作证”。

“该州存在极其严重的检察官不当行为，”费耶伯格说。

伯纳利洛县地方检察官格里尔·斯泰利反驳说，辩方没有遵循向大陪审团提交证据的正确程序，而且布斯菲尔德本人在三个小时的作证过程中，不恰当地“过度”试图引导大陪审团成员选择对他有利的证人和物证。

伯纳利洛县大都会拘留中心

导演蒂莫西·巴斯菲尔德因涉嫌性侵儿童出庭受审

根据布斯菲尔德律师提交的庭审记录，这位也曾出演过《三十而立》的演员告诉陪审团，这起案件彻底颠覆了他的生活，并影响了他的整个家庭。他作证说，他被“封杀”了，这意味着他失去了工作，并被经纪公司解雇了。

布斯菲尔德还作证说他没有什么可隐瞒的，当被问及他是否曾抚摸过孩子时，他回答说：“我要说的是，这绝对是百分之百的谎言。绝不可能。”

检察官表示，起诉书中每一项指控都可能判处六年监禁，而且刑期可能会加重。

“我们知道这可能并非最终结果，”费耶伯格说。“如果州政府选择再次尝试，蒂姆已经做好准备，那些证人也一样。”