Timothy Busfield, the Emmy-winning actor known for \u201cThe West Wing\u201d and \u201cThirtysomething,\u201d has secured a legal victory in his child sex abuse case. <\/p>\n
A New Mexico judge on Tuesday sided with Busfield, announcing he will release him on his own recognizance as the 68-year-old actor-director awaits trial stemming from allegations he sexually abused two child actors on the set of the Fox drama \u201cThe Cleaning Lady.\u201d His wife, \u201cLittle House on the Prairie\u201d star Melissa Gilbert, was in attendance at Tuesday\u2019s hearing and wept following the decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, God,\u201d she appeared to say. <\/p>\n
New Mexico District Court Judge David A. Murphy said the child sex abuse allegations against Busfield are \u201cinherently dangerous\u201d and that prosecutors proved \u201cMr. Busfield does pose a danger to the safety of others\u201d but that it is currently \u201cdifficult for the court to put too much weight into the allegations as they\u2019ve not been vetted by the judicial system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leading up to his decision, Murphy cited letters submitted by Busfield\u2019s defense team from the actor\u2019s friends and family, additional affidavits in support of the actor and \u201cthe lack of a pattern involving children in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t find that there\u2019s been sufficient presentation that this defendant may commit new crimes pending trial. There\u2019s not evidence of a pattern of criminal conduct,\u201d Murphy added. \u201cThere are no similar allegations involving children in his past. There\u2019s no evidence of noncompliance with prior court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Busfield will be supervised by a pretrial services officer in Albuquerque, his travel will not be limited and he is required to report to that officer. He is barred from possessing firearms and weapons and from consuming alcohol or drugs. He is also ordered to refrain from contacting the alleged victims and their family and from discussing his case with witnesses. <\/p>\n
Busfield had been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque, where he was booked on two felony counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and a single count of child abuse. He turned himself into law enforcement<\/a> last week, days after New Mexico officials issued a warrant for his arrest. <\/p>\n An affidavit filed earlier this month accuses Busfield of inappropriately touching<\/a> two child actors, who are brothers, during his tenure as a director, actor and producer for \u201cThe Cleaning Lady.\u201d According to the complaint, one child actor said Busfield first touched his \u201cprivate areas\u201d multiple times on set when he was 7 years old. The actor said that, when he was 8 years old, Busfield touched him inappropriately again several times, according to the affidavit. The complaint also detailed a police interview with Busfield in which he suggested that the boys\u2019 mother might have sought \u201crevenge\u201d on the director for \u201cnot bringing her kids back for the final season.\u201d<\/p>\n Leading up to his surrender, Busfield denied the allegations. \u201cThey\u2019re all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys,\u201d he said in a video published last week by TMZ<\/a>. He also told supporters at the time he intends to \u201cfight\u201d the charges and predicted, \u201cI\u2019m gonna be exonerated.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s hearing featured statements by Bernalillo County Deputy Dist. Atty. Savannah Brandenburg-Koch, Busfield defense attorney Amber Fayerberg and testimony from \u201cCleaning Lady\u201d cinematographer Alan Caudillo. <\/p>\n Although Brandenburg-Koch argued against Busfield\u2019s release and cited previous allegations that he assaulted two<\/a> women<\/a>, his attorney presented audio from the child actors\u2019 initial interviews with police in which they said that Busfield did not touch them inappropriately. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was not a failure to disclose,\u201d Fayerberg said of the audio clips, which she played in the courtroom. \u201cThis was an express denial.\u201d<\/p>\n Fayerberg also mentioned the legal troubles of the child actors\u2019 parents, including father Ronald Rodis\u2019 guilty plea to a federal fraud charge in 2017<\/a>, and a fraud lawsuit in 2011 against the boys\u2019 mother, Angele LaSalle. The attorney said the two young actors had been \u201cvictimized\u201d but not by Busfield. <\/p>\n \u201cThey were victimized by their own parents, who no longer could make money as a lawyer, disbarred. No longer could write bad checks,\u201d she said, \u201ctaking 85% of the money they made on a TV show and then manufactured into victims as revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n