A New Mexico judge threw out the child sexual abuse indictment against actor Timothy Busfield on Friday. Busfield appeared in The West Wing and Field of Dreams. He faced four felony counts of criminal sexual contact of a child under 13. Busfield directed The Cleaning Lady in Albuquerque. The parents of twin boys who lost their roles on the show said he inappropriately touched the children on set. Busfield denies it. District Judge Joseph Montano didn't rule on whether the accusations are true. He ruled on how prosecutors ran the grand jury. He wrote that the prosecutor used "an unexplained procedure" to "unilaterally withhold evidence from the grand jury." The order also says the state "remains free to institute new criminal proceedings" against Busfield. The court had set a trial for May 2027.

The State Blocked Witnesses From the Grand Jury, and the Case Was Weak Anyway (Amber Fayerberg, Timothy Busfield, Melissa Gilbert)

The defense says prosecutors hid the witnesses who could clear Busfield, and that the case never held up.

Prosecutors kept the grand jury from hearing the other side. Defense attorney Amber Fayerberg says Busfield's witnesses were ready and waiting. "Those witnesses were sitting in the hallway, ready to tell the grand jury what they saw, and what they saw shows that Tim is innocent," she said Friday. The judge found grand jurors tried at least three times to hear from those witnesses. In the end, only Busfield and a detective testified. At a September hearing, Fayerberg said, "The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct."

Prosecutors never had a real case. The defense says the twins first told police Busfield didn't touch them inappropriately. The defense accuses the parents of coaching the boys after the twins lost their roles. Busfield calls the accusations lies driven by revenge. He told the grand jury they were "absolutely one gazillion percent untrue." His wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, told ABC in April, "I am 100% confident he will be exonerated."

But the Judge Didn't Clear Him, and the Charges Can Come Back (Greer Staley, Nancy Laflin)

Prosecutors say the defense caused the mistakes it's complaining about, and the boys' early denials don't clear Busfield.

The defense caused its own problem. Chief Deputy District Attorney Greer Staley argued in September that the defense knew how to get evidence in front of a grand jury. She said the defense "intentionally ignored that procedure." "Defense have manufactured all of the error they have just complained of," she told the judge. Prosecutors also said the grand jurors never called a witness, so the state didn't have to call one. Staley said Busfield himself "excessively" tried to steer jurors toward friendly witnesses during his own testimony.

The boys' first answers don't settle anything. Prosecutors argued earlier this year that the twins' early denials meant the boys didn't "disclose" abuse, not that nothing happened. Prosecutors' early witness list also included four people who had accused Busfield of sexual misconduct in the past. The judge didn't clear Busfield. His order lets the state go back to a new grand jury. "Our office has received the order and is evaluating our options to determine how we will proceed," district attorney's office spokesperson Nancy Laflin said.

Where This Lands

The defense says prosecutors hid witnesses who could clear Busfield. It says the twins first told police Busfield didn't touch them inappropriately. Prosecutors say the defense skipped the rules and then blamed the state. They say a child's early denial doesn't mean nothing happened. The judge sided with the defense on the grand jury and left the charges open to refiling. Prosecutors haven't said whether they'll try again.

Sources