Federal authorities are helping in the search for “The West Wing” actor, Timothy Busfield, who has been accused of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, filed a criminal complaint against Busfield, which said a child claimed that the actor touched him inappropriately, The Associated Press reported. The incidents allegedly happened during production of “The Cleaning Lady,” which Busfield directed and was an actor in.
The charges were filed on Jan. 9, USA Today reported.
Police were alerted by a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital after an examination, ABC News reported.
The child, one of two twins on the show, said the alleged touching happened when he was 7 years old and that Busfield touched him three or four times. It allegedly happened another time when the child was a year older, and during which Busfield allegedly touched him five or six more times.
USA Today reported that Busfield is accused of touching the child’s genitals.
The mother reported the cases, which allegedly happened between November 2022 and spring 2024, to Child Protective Services, the AP reported.
The criminal complaint said the child has post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker said the child had nightmares about the actor touching him and woke up scared, the AP reported.
The show aired on Fox and was produced by Warner Bros., but ended last year. According to the complaint, Warner Bros. conducted an investigation but could not corroborate the allegations, according to the AP. The studio’s investigation was handled by an outside law firm, according ot Deadline.
The Warner Bros. investigation started after someone filed a complaint on an anonymous SAG-AFTRA hotline, Deadline reported.
Busfield denied the allegations when interviewed as part of the Albuquerque Police investigation.
The actor told police in November during a phone interview that the boys’ mother was upset that her sons were not brought back for the show’s final season and that she wanted revenge, Deadline reported.
He did tell investigators that it was a “playful environment” on set and that he had probably tickled the boys, USA Today reported.
Busfield has not yet been arrested and the U.S. Marshals are helping local police search for the actor, ABC News reported.
Busfield, nor his wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, has not commented on the allegations.
Warner Bros. Television released a statement which read, “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
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