Timothy Busfield’s lie detector offer is ‘public relations stunt’ as he faces child sex abuse charges: expert
Timothy Busfield was remanded Wednesday and held without bail in his first court appearance on multiple counts of child sex abuse.
Prior to Busfield's hearing, his lawyer claimed the "Thirtysomething" actor passed a voluntary independent polygraph test where he denied the claims.
The judge's decision to keep Busfield behind bars while he awaits pretrial hearing is common practice in a sex-crime case, according to former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. Busfield's decision to submit to a lie detector test, however, appeared to be a publicity stunt for "the court of public opinion," according to Rahmani.
TIMOTHY BUSFIELD HELD WITHOUT BAIL IN NEW MEXICO CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE
"Judges detain defendants without bail when they are a risk of flight or danger to the community," Rahmani told Fox News Digital. "They consider the strength of the evidence as it relates to the risk of the defendant fleeing or harming others, not whether they are likely to be convicted at trial.
"No bail detention is common in sex-crime cases, especially when there are multiple victims and they are minors or otherwise vulnerable. Practically, judges are more conservative and risk-averse in high-profile sex abuse cases. They don’t want the scrutiny and reputational harm if someone absconds or abuses others while out on bail."
Larry Stein, Busfield's lawyer, revealed Wednesday that "The West Wing" actor submitted to a polygraph test and passed.
"Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false," Stein said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed."
TIMOTHY BUSFIELD TURNS HIMSELF IN TO POLICE, PROMISES TO FIGHT CHILD SEX ABUSE ACCUSATIONS
Busfield, 68, surrendered Tuesday to local authorities on child sex abuse charges, days after an arrest warrant was issued for the actor. He was held without bail at the time of his arrest on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
Judge Felicia Blea-Rivera ordered Busfield held without bond pending his next hearing to be scheduled within five business days. The judge also set a Jan. 29 deadline for a preliminary hearing.
"The defense will likely argue for release at a later date, and argue there is no probable cause at the preliminary hearing," Rahmani told Fox News Digital. "This was just the first appearance, so they probably want to review the evidence and get their ducks in a row."
He added, "The offer to take a lie detector is a public relations stunt. They’re not admissible in court. The same goes for the video statement. That was for PR and the court of public opinion."
Fox News legal contributor Donna Rotunno said that it was "very common" for defendants to be held without bail in felony sex-crimes cases, but added that it's not often ordered with allegations that are old.
She added that the judge likely weighed his flight risk, if he was a danger to the community and whether there were safeguards a court could put in place to minimize risk if he were to be released.
Prior to his first hearing, prosecutors filed "a motion seeking to keep Mr. Busfield in custody while the case proceeds through the judicial process," Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in a statement online.
In the state's expedited motion for pretrial detention, prosecutors argued that Busfield "poses an ongoing and serious danger to children and the community."
They noted that his conduct reflected a "calculated pattern of grooming, lack of boundaries, and exploitation of professional authority to gain access to minors."
"The defendant has demonstrated: willingness to exploit positions of trust; ability to offend in professional environments designed to appear safe, minimization and denial of conduct, access to children through his profession, a pattern of inappropriate conduct spanning decades," documents stated.
"Witnesses in this investigation expressed fear of retaliation and career harm for reporting the Defendant's conduct, further underscoring his ability to intimidate and silence others."
The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center released Busfield's mugshot Tuesday afternoon.
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On Jan. 9, an arrest warrant was issued for the director and Emmy Award-winning actor, and obtained by Fox News Digital.
The police investigation into the allegations against Busfield began on Nov. 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital alerted officers about a case of alleged sexual abuse.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by Fox News Digital, two 11-year-old twins allege that the director, whom they were told to call Uncle Tim on the set of "The Cleaning Lady," touched them inappropriately. One twin claimed an incident occurred while alone with Busfield in a bedroom on set, alleging he was touched over his clothes on his genitals and bottom. The warrant further states that hospital professionals later informed the parents that the children showed signs of being "groomed."
The boys also alleged that Busfield would "tickle them on the stomach and legs" while on set with them. One of the boys was diagnosed with moderate PTSD and anxiety following his claims of "inappropriate touching."
The boy said he had been "having nightmares about the director touching him and waking up scared," and alleged Busfield "had touched and rubbed his penis 3 or 4 times and appeared to be ashamed," the warrant stated.
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In an interview before his arrest, Busfield allegedly told police he had heard the parents wanted "revenge" against him because their boys had been replaced by someone younger for the final season of the show, which ran from 2022 until 2025.
When investigators asked Busfield if he had ever picked up the children, he allegedly admitted it was "highly likely that he would have." He defended the behavior by saying he wanted to foster a "playful" environment on set, adding that such interactions would have occurred in front of their parents.
"There would never be a weird moment about it," Busfield told police, according to the warrant. "I don't really remember picking those boys up. I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I'd pick him up, and he'd be giggling, and that would sort of get him ready to act."
An independent outside investigation conducted by Warner Bros to examine the allegations of on-set misconduct determined "no corroborating evidence" of inappropriate conduct.
"I conducted an independent and thorough investigation of all allegations known to the Studio at the time," Christina McGovern said. "Warner Bros. gave me full discretion as to my investigation. Based on what was alleged, and all evidence gathered, including multiple witness statements, I found no corroborating evidence that Mr. Busfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or that he was ever alone with the twins on set."
Warner Bros. Television said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. 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."
In a motion filed by the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday and obtained by Fox News Digital, Busfield was hit with another sexual abuse allegation.
Colin Swift, the father of an alleged victim, reported to law enforcement on Jan. 13 that Busfield allegedly had sexually abused Swift's daughter "several years ago" in Sacramento, Calif., when she was 16 years old.
According to the motion, Busfield allegedly "begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy."
Busfield's wife, "Little House on the Prairie" actress Melissa Gilbert, reportedly deleted her Instagram account after the arrest warrant was issued.
Gilbert's representative told Fox News Digital that the actress will continue to support her husband and will address the public at the appropriate time.
"Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time. Any purported ‘statements’ circulating online — including AI-generated deepfakes of her ‘breaking her silence’ — should not be treated as coming from her," her representative said.
"She is honoring the request of Tim’s lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds. During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment. Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected."
Fox News Digital's Larry Fink contributed to the report.