Busfield Indictment Challenge
Timothy Busfield Moves to Quash Child Sex Contact Indictment, Alleges Grand Jury Misconduct
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Key Points
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Busfield’s defense filed a “robust 309-page” motion arguing prosecutors so tainted the grand jury process that the indictment should be quashed, alleging prosecutors acted as a non-neutral “presenter of evidence” and included claims that they misrepresented the law, blocked exculpatory evidence, and even “refus[ed] to let jurors hear from witnesses.”
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In a statement to USA TODAY, Busfield’s lawyer Larry Stein said, “As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” adding that the detention hearing showed “fatal weaknesses” in the State’s evidence and that Busfield would challenge the charges “in open court.”
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USA TODAY’s reporting includes more detail about the underlying allegations: the boys accused Busfield of inappropriate physical contact on the “The Cleaning Lady” set and claimed they were told to call him “Uncle Tim,” and one accuser alleged Busfield touched his genitals “several times.”
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Busfield’s defense also claims the actor told investigators he suspected the accusers’ mother “may be looking to settle a score” after the boys were no longer on the show.
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The case’s earlier procedural history is detailed in LA Mag: Busfield was arrested in January 2026 after an arrest warrant, was initially detained when he turned himself in, but at a January detention hearing the judge declined to hold him in jail before trial, finding the evidence “essentially ‘neutral’” after hearing both sides.
Actor Timothy Busfield asked a New Mexico judge on June 18, 2026, to throw out his four-count indictment on criminal sexual contact with a child under 13, claiming prosecutors rigged the grand jury process against him. His lawyers filed a 309-page motion arguing the state withheld key evidence, misled jurors about the law, and treated Busfield's own grand jury testimony as a hostile cross-examination, according to TheWrap.
Busfield, 69, is best known for Emmy-winning roles in *Thirtysomething* and *The West Wing*. He was indicted on February 6, 2026, over allegations involving two twin child actors on the Albuquerque set of *The Cleaning Lady*. He has pleaded not guilty. "I did not do anything to those little boys, and I'm going to fight it," Busfield said in a video released after his January arrest, per The Guardian.
Defense Claims Prosecutors Buried Evidence That Helped Busfield
The core of the defense motion is that prosecutors acted as advocates, not neutral presenters of evidence. Under New Mexico law, prosecutors must present grand jury cases fairly and impartially. Busfield's team says they did not. The motion claims the state refused to let grand jurors hear from defense witnesses and blocked evidence that pointed away from guilt, according to TheWrap.
Central to that argument is the "Second Solomon Report," an independent investigation Warner Bros. commissioned after receiving anonymous complaints in February 2025. The defense says that report, completed September 9, 2025, found no wrongdoing — yet prosecutors never showed it to the grand jury. The defense also says Busfield passed a polygraph test and had supporting witness statements that were similarly kept from jurors, per ca.news.yahoo.com.
A January Detention Hearing Already Exposed Weak State Evidence
This is not the first time the state's case has looked shaky. At a detention hearing on January 21, 2026, a New Mexico judge declined to hold Busfield in jail while he awaits trial. The judge described the state's evidence as "essentially neutral" after hearing both sides — a striking characterization for a criminal sexual abuse case involving a child.
Busfield's lead attorney, Stanton "Larry" Stein, leaned into that finding. "As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich," Stein told USA TODAY, adding that the detention hearing had exposed "fatal weaknesses" in the state's evidence. Stein said Busfield would challenge the charges "in open court." Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman responded that "this case will proceed through the judicial process and is expected to move forward to trial," according to TMZ.
Underlying Allegations Involve Twin Boys on The Cleaning Lady Set
The charges stem from events between late 2022 and early 2024 on the Albuquerque set of *The Cleaning Lady*. Twin brothers, then aged 7 to 8, accused Busfield of inappropriate physical contact. One accuser alleged Busfield touched his genitals over his clothing "several times." The boys said they were told to call Busfield "Uncle Tim" and were afraid to speak up because he was a director with authority over them, per USA TODAY.
The defense pushes back hard on the accusers' credibility. Court filings claim the boys' parents, Angele LaSalle and Ronald Rodis, have a "well-documented history of fraud" and civil judgments against them totaling more than $400,000 for unpaid gambling debts and fraudulent transfers. Busfield told investigators he suspected the mother "may be looking to settle a score" after her sons were recast and written off the show before its final season, according to TheWrap.
What Happens Next If the Judge Quashes the Indictment
A ruling to quash the indictment would not mean Busfield is innocent. It would mean the grand jury process itself was legally flawed — a procedural dismissal. If the judge grants the motion, prosecutors could take the case to a new grand jury or pursue a preliminary hearing through a criminal information filing instead, TheWrap reported.
The case has drawn comparisons to the Alec Baldwin *Rust* shooting case, where a New Mexico judge dismissed charges after finding prosecutorial misconduct. Legal observers note that if Busfield's motion succeeds, it could raise the bar for how neutrally prosecutors must present evidence in New Mexico grand jury proceedings. Busfield's wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, has stood firmly by him, saying she is "100% confident he will be exonerated," per TheWrap.
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