Melissa Gilbert spoke out about youngster sexual abuse on social media weeks earlier than her husband, Timothy Busfield, confronted an arrest warrant.
The Albuquerque Police Division alleges the 68-year-old actor and director sexually abused two 11-year-old twin boys, with one claiming abuse started at age seven.
Investigations hint again to 2024 after a UNMH physician raised considerations. The boys, youngster actors on “The Cleansing Girl,” had been reportedly groomed by Melissa Gilbert’s husband.
Melissa Gilbert Talked About Youngster Intercourse Abuse Weeks Earlier than Her Husband Timothy Busfield’s Arrest Warrant
Melissa Gilbert addressed the difficulty of kid sexual abuse in a social media submit simply weeks earlier than her husband, Timothy Busfield, grew to become the topic of an arrest warrant linked to allegations involving minors.
An arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Division (APD) and obtained by Folks Journal on Friday, January 9, alleges that Busfield, 68, engaged in unlawful sexual contact with two 11-year-old twin boys.
Authorities state that one of many minors claimed the alleged incidents started when he was 7 years outdated. Busfield is dealing with two counts of legal sexual contact of a minor and one rely of kid abuse.
Weeks earlier, Gilbert, 61, shared a November 15 Instagram submit that includes a throwback picture of herself and mirrored on her time on “Little Home on the Prairie,” the place she labored reverse an older on-screen love curiosity portrayed by Dean Butler, who was a number of years older than her.
Melissa Gilbert Mirrored On Her Childhood Experiences Of On-Display Romance And Advocated For Youngster Security
Writing the submit on the time, Gilbert mentioned she hesitated earlier than posting however finally felt compelled to talk after seeing different girls share related experiences on-line utilizing hashtags resembling #IWasFifteen and #IWasAChild.
Curious, she looked for photographs of herself from that age and was disturbed by what she discovered.
Trying again, Gilbert mentioned she felt sick realizing that the identical younger woman pictured vacationing in Hawaii along with her household was additionally anticipated “to ‘fall in love with’ and kiss a person on movie who was a number of years older than she was.”
She added, “By the lens of right now, that is surprising. I’ve no phrases aside from to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’ And I used to be the excellent news.”
Gilbert expressed gratitude to her mom, Michael Landon Sr., and others who ensured her security, noting, “Are you able to think about if I hadn’t had all of them? I’m so lucky (Kind of). Many different younger girls aren’t.”
Timothy Busfield Faces Arrest Warrant Over Alleged Sexual Abuse Of Twin Youngster Actors
A number of weeks later, on Friday, January 9, authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Gilbert’s husband, Timothy Busfield, in line with paperwork obtained by Us Weekly.
The warrant alleges that the actor and director engaged in unlawful sexual conduct involving two 11-year-old twin boys whereas engaged on the set of the tv sequence “The Cleansing Girl.”
One of many minors informed investigators that the alleged abuse started when he was seven years outdated.
An accompanying affidavit obtained by the publication states that the kid was “very afraid of Tim and was relieved when he was off set.”
The boy was additionally reportedly “afraid to inform anybody as a result of Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him.”
Investigators Interviewed Timoth Busfield With Melissa Gilbert Current
The arrest warrant additional notes that investigators carried out a telephone interview with Busfield, throughout which his spouse, Gilbert, was current and on speakerphone.
Within the affidavit, the investigator wrote that each “Timothy, and his spouse, Melissa, did inform me earlier than this that they did have a relationship with [the young boys] and their household exterior of labor.”
It continued, “They suggested that they did purchase the 2 boys Christmas presents and had been collectively on a number of social capabilities.”
Investigation Into Timothy Busfield’s Alleged Sexual Abuse Of Youngster Actors Dates Again To 2024
The investigation into Busfield, finest recognized for portraying Danny Concannon on “The West Wing,” reportedly started in November 2024 after a health care provider on the College of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) contacted regulation enforcement concerning suspected sexual abuse.
In accordance with the arrest warrant, the boys’ mother and father informed Officer Marvin Kirk Brown that their kids had been actors who met Busfield whereas engaged on “The Cleansing Girl,” the place he served as a director. The FOX sequence aired from January 2022 via June 2025.
The mother and father had been later suggested by authorized counsel to convey the kids to UNMH for analysis. Medical professionals there reportedly indicated the boys might have been groomed, in line with the warrant.
Nevertheless, authorities later concluded that the case didn’t meet the required standards for acceptance at the moment.
In October 2025, the boys’ mom later filed a police report and knowledgeable Youngster Protecting Providers (CPS) that each of her kids had disclosed alleged sexual abuse by Busfield spanning from roughly November 2022 via the spring of 2024.
In accordance with the arrest warrant, she was subsequently suggested that no motion could possibly be taken as a result of the allegations didn’t contain bodily abuse.
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