Timothy Busfield has recently become a trending topic due to serious legal issues, as he has been indicted on four counts of child sexual contact in New Mexico. This significant legal development has sparked widespread media coverage, leading to a considerable increase in search interest, as individuals seek to understand the details surrounding the charges.
The indictment is particularly shocking given Busfield’s public profile as an actor, known for his roles in well-known television series. The specificity of the charges against him likely raises public curiosity and concern, contributing to the 50K+ searches observed. As news outlets report on this unfolding situation, it captures the attention of those interested in legal matters, celebrity news, and the implications of such allegations.
Additionally, Busfield’s recasting in the show “Law & Order: SVU” has fueled public interest. His previous role was taken over by actor David Zayas, which coincides with the timing of the criminal charges. The overlap of his legal troubles with his career developments likely further amplifies the volume of searches as fans and the public try to piece together the circumstances surrounding the actor’s current situation.
Watch the Moment
Internet Reacts
D
> Busfield is accused of touching the children on multiple occasions on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” between November 2022 and spring 2024. > Busfield’s attorneys have said the allegations are a part of a revenge plot manufactured by the boys’ parents after the children lost their roles in “The Cleaning Lady.” Jesus fucking Christ.
A
I don’t understand how defences attorneys can say this type of shit. Harass victims in court with false allegations and then walk out at the end of it with 0 repercussions. I understand about innocent until proven guilty but this shit should be illegal.
C
So you know that the attorneys are lying, and that the allegations are definitely true and not at all a fabrication of his known-fraudster parents, which were corroborated by studio crew? Do you have some sort of evidence that would be useful for the case?
P
It is bizarre that attorneys are allowed to flat-out lie in court with no repercussions. Source: watched it in court many times.
P
It took me a minute to figure out who this guy was. Poindexter from revenge of the nerds.
P
He’ll get 30something years
K
Poindexter used to be my favorite nerd. Looks like Booger will have to take that title now….
M
Maybe, but he might be innocent. His people are claiming it is revenge for dropping the kids from the show, and when the allegations came out a bit ago it was about tickling the kids (which may seem weird today but may have been his old school way to get child actors ready for direction) and tussling their hair… If I remember correctly. Or maybe there was more. I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I’m willing to wait for evidence.
S
The thing is he has three other sexual assault allegations in his past. One in 1994 with an underaged girl during the filming of little big league, an accusation from an adult woman claiming he groped her unconsensually in 2012 and then a different one in 2026 where a father of an underaged girl says he tried to kiss his daughter and put his hand down her pants so the odds are not in his favor whatsoever at all. IMHO it just shows what we already know. People of power with money can get away with the same thing over and over again and Hollywood is crawling with pedophiles. 1994-2026 is no small stretch of time by any means either. TLDR; I understand not wanting to get the pitchforks and torches out but I also believe in looking at all the evidence that has been given to us.
M
That last one was in the last 37 days?
H
Yeah i don’t ever wanna defend child molesters,but I also dont wanna call someone a molester unless we KNOW they are one.everyone even the worst of us deserve our day in court..this is our right, we do this for the good of all of us
E
I thought I was looking at my mother’s old douchebag but that’s in Ohio.
M
More notably Danny the reporter from the West Wing.
I
It took me a while for my brain to make the connection, but he played the jerk brother-in-law from *Field of Dreams* who wanted Ray to sell the farm (and baseball diamond).
S
Apparently he got in trouble on set back then as well for something sorta similar. An underaged extra in that movie accused him of sexual assault. Busfield ended up settling the lawsuit for “an undisclosed amount of money” according to the wiki
V
He played Danny on the West Wing. I just started re watching a few weeks ago, then saw this arrest and got a little sad. I enjoyed him on the show.
H
Google image searched him after you mentioned this, he looks like a real life Toby Flenderson (at least in that role).
S
I always thought it would have been Takashi who went bad. It’s always the one you suspect the least.
S
This definitely casts doubt on the speculation that this is a purely manufactured revenge plot. Yea I know, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. Presumably a prosecutor will have reviewed the evidence and see if it’s likely or not that could secure a conviction… or you know if a crime actually occurred. Unless Busfield’s accusers have a lot of pull with the local DA, it seems unlikely they’d want to play patsy to a (baseless) revenge plot. There isn’t an obvious political angle to this either.
I
The only political angle is the DA’s political career. He’s running for governor and the democratic primaries are in June. Whoever wins the primary will almost certainly be the next governor.
U
Just look at the [Duke Lacrosse case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_lacrosse_rape_hoax) prosecutors will do this stuff. But I’m not saying that’s the case here. But it can happen.
F
And I was one of the many who assumed that they were guilty! I still feel bad about it
U
Same here, local news splashed it around, and it’s easy to not like privileged kids, but Nifong was a complete scumbag who took advantage.
F
>but Nifong was a complete scumbag who took advantage You sent me to Google! Cheers!
U
lol, that’s why I linked the Wikipedia article! Cheers to you as well.
D
Wasn’t just local news. Nancy Grace on CNN ran with it and never apologized or acknowledged it.
U
Definitely, but Nancy Grace you could escape. Locally it was everywhere, and I mean everywhere tv, print, radio all the time. And everyone had an opinion, so it was talked about all the time outside of media.
S
And I seriously doubt prosecuting a D-tier actor whose biggest claim to fame was a tv show that ended 20 years ago would be a “headlining” accomplishment. The political angle I was more suggesting was a personal grudge between the DA and Busfield. Not unlike the nakedly political criminal investigations into James Comey, Latisha James, and Jerome Powell by the Trump admin.
C
Would you know about the prosecutor if this wasn’t going on?
P
Timothy Busfield is hardly a D-tier actor… now that’s just slander LOL True that he is probably better regarded if you are older.
S
I guess I should had said D-list, not D-tier. Like I mentioned his last notable part was as a minor character in a show that has been off the air for nearly 20 years.
W
The DA’s not running for governor?
R
“Yea I know, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich.“ [Unless you’re Jeanine Pirro…](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/grand-jury-declines-indict-sandwich-guy-threw-sub-dc-federal-officer-rcna227464)
S
It’s sad that the only thing that might save us is the staggering incompetence of the Trump admin.
H
That’s the nice thing about political leaders who value loyalty over ability, they’re administrations are inherently incompetent.
S
The flip to it is that it can increase loyalty, as the only route to power for these people is through *this* administration. Whereas a properly competent individual could just wait for another opportunity. In short incompetence can be a feature as much as it’s a bug.
A
Reminds me of what AOC said about the end of American democracy. She thought it would be genius evil supervillains like in the movies, not a bunch of morons talking other morons into voluntarily bringing in fascism. Deeply paraphrasing lol.
C
A prosecutor that just happens to be running for Governor
T
Well, in that case the sandwich is the victim, so it makes sense.
M
The threshold to indict is incredibly low. I’m all for locking up pedophiles and throwing away the key but this whole thing seems a bit sus. I’m withholding judgement on this one till more info comes out at trial
S
>There isn’t an obvious political angle to this either. Well this New Mexico, which famously went after Alec Baldwin for political reasons. I wouldn’t put it past them to go after this guy harder just because he’s vaguely associated with Hollywood.
C
No political angle. Except for the whole prosecutor just happens to be running for Governor angle.
E
This case is starting now, the primary for Governor is in early June. Unless this guy pushes for a speedy trial, there’s no way it would he done in time to make any kind of an impact. Even if they successfully prosecute him, Bergman was down by a margin of 30% to Deb Haaland in the most recent polling (August ’25, because it really is not a competitive race).
P
Even better because the trial will still be in the news and they won’t have a verdict yet (as a not-guilty would presumably hurt them in the election). All speculation of course…
G
This theory has never made sense to me because that DA was a Democrat in a state generally approving of guns I kind of think they went after Baldwin because their state law plainly states you’re ultimately responsible if a gun is in your hands, and Baldwin pulled the trigger
R
I don’t think they meant it was political in the “Im going to prosecute members of the other party”, I think they meant as in “The DA is sticking so much on it because theyre eyeing running for office/future appointments)
E
Politely pushing back on that; Baldwin was indicted in Sante Fe County. This guy is being indicted in Bernalillo County. They’re different prosecutors *and*, also, not at all the entirety of New Mexico’s fault. Sam Bergman is running for Governor. The last poll of the race, in August, showed Former Secretary of the Interior, former Congresswoman from NM-01, Deb Haaland running 30% ahead of him. Prosecuting this actor, in a case that likely won’t be done by the time of the June primary, isn’t going to do anything for him. He’d be a fool to think otherwise.
W
I think you are wildly overestimating how much prosecutors care about whether or not they are charging innocent people. Also, there is no downside for the prosecutor in pursing bullshit charges. There is a huge political upside to convicting a “hollywood liberal” in a state like New Mexico.
E
Unless the defendant pushes for a speedy trial, they won’t arrive at a conviction *or* acquital before the June 2nd primary for that race. Also, New Mexico is a liberal state.
B
>There is a huge political upside to convicting a “hollywood liberal” in a state like New Mexico. What? Are you confusing us with Arizona?
Additional Sources:
BBC – Timothy Busfield indicted on four counts of child sexual contact in New Mexico
