Timothy Busfield released from jail ahead of trial in child sex abuse case

Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield was released from jail on Tuesday pending trial on child sex abuse charges.

“I don’t find that there’s been sufficient presentation that this defendant may commit new crimes if released pending trial,” ruled Bernalillo County District Court Judge David Murphy, citing a lack of past criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children, as well as Busfield’s voluntary surrender.

RELATED: Timothy Busfield’s accuser originally told cops: ‘He’s never touched me’

As conditions of his release, Busfield must appear for all future court dates and is restricted from possessing firearms or dangerous weapons, consuming alcohol or illegal drugs, having contact with the alleged victims or their families, discussing the case with any witnesses or having unsupervised contact with any minors.

Busfield, who was shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit during the hearing, must keep the court appraised of his location, but is allowed to return home from where he was being held in New Mexico. A trial date was not set.

The judge’s ruling came following a two-hour detention hearing in Albuquerque, where prosecutors argued Busfield should remain behind bars so he can’t possibly reoffend, citing previous — though not charged — allegations of misconduct by the actor involving two teenage girls and at least one adult women.

Busfield, 68, is accused of sexually abusing two child actors, twin brothers, on the Albuquerque set of the Fox crime drama “The Cleaning Lady,” for which he directed multiple episodes. According to the boys’ parents, they were inappropriately touched multiple times between November 2022 and the spring of 2024, with one of the brothers saying the abuse began when he was 7 years old.

Busfield — known for his roles in “The West Wing” and “Field of Dreams” — faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. He has vehemently denied the claims and slammed the allegations as “all lies.”

Defense lawyer Christopher Dodd argued on Tuesday that the children involved denied any abuse took place when they first spoke to investigators.

“I have significant concerns about the prosecution talking as if he has already been convicted,” Dodd said.

Amber Fayerberg, another Busfield attorney, said it would have been difficult for Busfield to interact with the children unsupervised given the presence of their on-set teacher and other crew members.

In a letter of support for Busfield, the show’s director of cinematography Alan Caudillo told the court the boys’ parents “took it very badly” when the children were let go from the series, on which Busfield also served as an executive producer.

Busfield told police that Elodie Yung, the show’s star, told him the boys’ mom vowed to get revenge on Busfield “for not bringing her kids back for the final season,” according to charging documents.

The defense also pointed out that the boys’ father, Ronald Rodis, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges in 2016.

But Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch said the boys eventually made “specific” disclosures to a therapist and a doctor, arguing they initially didn’t tell police because they didn’t want to get in trouble.

She also described a documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior by Busfield over the past three decades. Prosecutors have said other witnesses have expressed fear regarding retaliation and professional harm.

Brandenburg-Koch argued that a previous independent investigation commissioned by Warner Bros., which was unable to corroborate the accusations, was not thorough or reliable, with the investigator failing to speak with key witnesses.

In a filing opposing the state’s motion for pretrial detention, Busfield’s defense team submitted 75 letters expressing support from friends, co-workers and family members — including actress Melissa Gilbert, whom he married in 2013.

Writing about her “rock [and] partner in business and life,” the “Little House on the Prairie” alum said Busfield has “the strongest moral compass of any human [she has] ever known.”

Gilbert cried in the courtroom after the judge’s ruling on Tuesday.

Before the hearing, Busfield had been denied bail and was being held in jail since surrendering to New Mexico police last week. He was released without bail and is now free to leave the state.

Since the allegations against Busfield became public, an episode of “Law and Order: SVU” in which he appeared was yanked from the schedule, he was edited out of the upcoming rom-com “You Deserve Each Other” and was dropped by the Innovative Artists agency.