Timothy Busfield has been indicted by a grand jury and will stand trial on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child.
The West Wing actor, 68, was released from custody last month.
In a statement, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said: “As with all criminal proceedings, Mr. Busfield is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
“This case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial.”
He added that the Special Victims Unit of the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case, and concluded: “The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims across New Mexico.”
Busfield has denied all the allegations against him.
An arrest warrant for the actor was originally issued in January in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where local station KOAT reported that one child told law enforcement that Busfield allegedly touched them inappropriately at the age of 7, according to court records.
Busfield was reportedly directing the Fox crime series The Cleaning Lady when the alleged acts took place, beginning in November 2022. The incidents allegedly occurred around five or six times.
Court documents show that Albuquerque police began their investigation of Busfield in November 2024 after staff at the University of New Mexico Hospital told police it appeared children were being groomed on the set of the television show.
According to those records, two children at the hospital did not accuse Busfield of sexual contact but did state that “Uncle Tim” would tickle them on the stomach and legs, and that they did not care for the tickling.
Busfield is best known for playing Danny Concannon in The West Wing and has also appeared in films including Field of Dreams and Revenge of the Nerds.
He was born in June 1957 in Lansing, Michigan, and studied drama at East Tennessee State University. He has worked extensively in theatre as an actor and director, with Broadway credits including A Few Good Men and Brighton Beach Memoirs.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
In 1984, he played Arnold Poindexter in the frat house comedy Revenge of the Nerds and returned for the film’s 1987 sequel. That same year, he was cast in the acclaimed drama series Thirtysomething.
He has worked with writer and director Aaron Sorkin on several occasions, beginning with his role in the Broadway production of A Few Good Men in 1990.
He directed several episodes of Sorkin’s ABC comedy-drama Sports Night, and from 1999 to 2006 appeared as the Pulitzer Prize–winning White House Correspondent Danny Concannon on The West Wing, the love interest to Allison Janney’s Press Secretary C.J. Cregg.
Busfield has been married three times. He has a son from his first marriage to actor and director Radha Delamarter. After they divorced in 1986, he married fashion designer Jennifer Merwin in 1988 and they had two more children. They divorced in 2007, and in 2013, he married Little House on the Prairie actor Melissa Gilbert.
