Update 6 p.m.: Actor Timothy Busfield has surrendered to police in New Mexico to face charges of inappropriately touching two children.
Busfield was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque at about 2:30 p.m., NBC News reports.
The actor’s attorney, Larry Stein, had asked authorities to drop a warrant for his arrest but they declined to do so. He is currently being held without bond.
Jail records show he faces two counts of criminal sexual contact with a child under 13 and one count of child abuse.
Original story:
The U.S. Marshals has joined the search for actor and director Timothy Busfield, who allegedly admitted that it’s “highly likely” children were touched on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” in New Mexico.
According to NBC News, authorities issued an arrest warrant on January 9 for Busfield, who stands accused of inappropriately touching two children.
Busfield, well-known for his role for “The West Wing” drama series and as part of the ensemble case of “thirtysomething” — for which he won an Emmy in 1991 — was the director and an actor in “The Cleaning Lady,” when he touched two boys, ages 7 and 8 at the time, on numerous occasions, according to a criminal complaint.
One of the children alleged that Busfield touched him in his private area.
The abuse reportedly happened between 2022 and 2024, the criminal complaint stated. Warner Bros. subsequently conducted its own investigation and determined that they could not find any evidence that Busfield acted inappropriately.
The criminal complaint indicated that during questioning with Albuquerque police, Busfield admitted that it was “highly likely” that he would have touched the children on that particular set, as it was a “playful environment,” US Weekly reports.
“I mean, I’m always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it,” Busfield told police during a November 2025 interview with Albuquerque police.
Busfield also allegedly claimed that the mother of one of the children became upset upon learning the boy would not be returning to the show for its final season.
After a judge issued an arrest warrant for Busfield, the U.S. Marshals joined the search on January 13.
“Albuquerque Police Department is working with the U.S. Marshal Service to get Mr. Busfield into custody,” APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told FOX News Digital.
Busfield is facing child abuse and two counts of sexual contact with a minor charges. His wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, has since deleted her Instagram account.
The affidavit stated that one of the victims had bed-wetting incidents after the alleged abuse, “along with other behavior issues,” post-traumatic stress disorder, and “about the director touching him,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
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[Feature Photo: Timothy Busfield/Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office]