Melissa Gilbert is standing by her husband, Timothy Busfield, amid the child sex abuse allegations against him.
For the first time since Busfield, 68, was arrested in February, Gilbert sat down for a forthcoming interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America to “clarify the facts” in the case, according to People.
Busfield is awaiting trial after he was indicted on four charges of criminal sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 while he worked as the director on Fox series The Cleaning Lady from 2022 to 2024. He has denied all allegations and vowed to fight the charges against him.
Gilbert maintained her husband’s innocence in her new interview, which is set to air April 6, and said that Busfield’s ongoing legal battle has been “hell” for their family.
“This has been the most traumatizing experience of our lives,” the Little House on the Prairie actor, 61, told Stephanopoulos in a clip of the interview. “Our life as we knew it is done. We are grieving what we had — all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects.”
She continued of her husband since 2013: “For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy. [He’s] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison.”
The Albuquerque Police Department issued a January 9 warrant for Busfield’s arrest, alleging that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys he met on the set of the Fox series, which they worked on as child actors. All four charges were in reference to events that allegedly occurred from October 2022 to September 2023, according to court documents.
Larry Stein, Busfield’s civil attorney, said his indictment was “not unexpected.”
“What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial,” Stein said in a February statement. “The detention hearing exposed fatal weaknesses in the State’s evidence — gaps that no amount of charging decisions can cure. This prosecution appears driven by something other than the facts or the law. Mr. Busfield will fight these charges at every stage and looks forward to testing the State’s case in open court — where evidence matters — not behind closed doors.”
Busfield’s attorneys have argued that the boys’ parents made the allegations against the director after the boys lost their role on the TV show.
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The West Wing actor surrendered to police January 13 and was released from custody a week later at a pretrial detention hearing, where Gilbert was seen crying in the courtroom and whispering, “Thank you, God.”
She submitted one of the dozens of letters sent to the judge on Busfield’s behalf denying witnessing any inappropriate behavior from him, writing: “The reality is that Tim Busfield is my love, my rock, my partner in business and life. He is my comfort and my council. His joy, humor and quick wit bring sparkle to my life. Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.”
Busfield pleaded not guilty to all four counts February 10. His trial is scheduled to begin May 2027.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
