SANTA FE, N.M. (Court TV) — A judge dismissed the indictment against actor Timothy Busfield Friday after finding that prosecutors mishandled grand jury proceedings.
Director and actor Timothy Busfield appears at a hearing in the Second District Judicial Court at the Bernalillo County Courthouse, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital Pool Photo via AP)
Busfield, 69, had been charged with four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor under 13 after two children who worked with him on the set of the TV show “The Cleaning Lady” alleged to investigators that he had sexually abused them. Busfield denied the charges and moved to quash the indictment, arguing that prosecutors presented their case improperly.
“During the grand jury proceeding on Feb. 5, 2026, the state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct, abandoned its role as a neutral aide to the grand jury, misstated the law to the grand jury and actively blocked the grand jury from interviewing witnesses who were present, and available, and willing to testify and who the grand jurors asked three times to hear from,” Busfield’s attorney, Amber Fayerberg, said at a hearing on the issue last month.
At the grand jury proceeding, Busfield testified on his own behalf, telling the jurors, “I have never, ever been inappropriate in any way, physically, sexually, in any way with a child, a prepubescent little boy. I’m not attracted to that. I’ve never been attracted to that.” Busfield was allowed to testify, but he said other witnesses who were present when the alleged abuse occurred were barred from speaking to grand jurors, even though they were available and willing.
Busfield’s attorneys argued that despite the grand jurors specifically asking to hear from witnesses favorable to the defense, prosecutors refused, citing a nonexistent rule that would have required the entire grand jury panel to agree to come back the following week.
“The prosecutor used an unexplained procedure and an incomplete explanation of the subpoena requirement to unilaterally withhold evidence from the grand jury,” Judge Joseph Montano wrote in his order to quash the grand jury’s indictment. “In doing so, the grand jury proceedings were conducted in a manner that violated grand jury statutes designed to protect the structural integrity of our grand jury system.”
Montano’s order notes that the state “remains free to institute new criminal proceedings against” Busfield, meaning that prosecutors can convene another grand jury — as long as they comply with the rules.
