Timothy Busfield says he drove ‘2,000 miles’ immediately after receiving ‘warrant’ in Albuquerque for child molestation charges

need to know

• Actor Timothy Busfield said in a video that he drove “2,000 miles to Albuquerque” to surrender to police on charges of sexual misconduct with minors.

• The video was obtained by TMZ and shows Busfield claiming the allegations against him are false and that he “received a call Friday night” that an arrest warrant had been issued.

• Busfield is married to actress Melissa Gilbert and is best known for his role as Danny Concannon West Wing

Actor Timothy Busfield says he “traveled 2,000 miles to Albuquerque” to surrender to police on charges of unlawful sexual conduct with minors.

The 68-year-old actor surrendered on Tuesday, Jan. 13, PEOPLE confirmed.

In a video obtained by TMZ and reportedly filmed at his attorney’s office in Albuquerque, Busfield claimed, “I did nothing wrong,” and detailed his surrender.

“Hi everyone, this is Tim,” said Busfield – who is married to Melissa Gilbert and is best known for his role as Danny Concannon. West Wing – said in the video. “I’m sure many of you who are watching this know, I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I’m here now. I got a call Friday night, I was supposed to get a lawyer. Saturday I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m going to face these lies. They’re horrible.”

He continued, “They’re all lies and I didn’t do anything to those little guys and I’m going to fight this. I’m going to fight this big team, and I’m going to be innocent, I know I am, because it’s all so wrong and all lies.”

Busfield ended the video by saying: “So hang in there and hopefully I’ll be out and back to work soon. I love everyone for supporting me, thank you.”

The video came four days after the Albuquerque Police Department issued an arrest warrant for the actor, 68, on Jan. 9, accusing Busfield of engaging in illicit sex with two boys, 11-year-old twins, whose identities were withheld from the public.

The victim’s parents said the boys met Busfield on the set of the Fox series. cleaning ladyAfter Busfield joined as a director in Season 2 (which aired in June 2022 and was filmed in New Mexico), and “became close” to the boys, according to the arrest warrant.

The investigation began on November 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police to alleged sexual misconduct.

According to the warrant, the boy’s mother asked her sons, “if anyone had touched them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable. The children allegedly responded by asking, ‘Are you like Uncle Tim?’ “

The parents were advised by an attorney to take the children to UNMH, where they say professionals suggested the boys were “groomed.”

At the time, the children did not disclose any sexual contact, a police officer said in the warrant, but they claimed Busfield “would tickle them on the stomach and legs.” The case did not meet their acceptance criteria at the time.

The warrant shows how the boy’s mother filed a police report on Oct. 3, 2025, telling Child Protective Services that “Timothy disclosed sexual abuse between November 2022 and the spring of 2024.” At that time, it was said that nothing could be done as there was no physical abuse according to the warrant.

The mother told authorities on September 2, 2025 and September 22, 2025, that one of the boys told his counselor that Busfield had touched him inappropriately.

According to the warrant, Busfield allegedly told police that the parents were concerned that their sons had been replaced with a younger actor who had auditioned. The actor further alleged that he was told by an actress on the show that the alleged victim’s mother “wanted revenge,” according to the warrant.

When asked by investigators if he ever picked on or tickled the boys, Busfield reportedly said it was “very likely he would” because he wanted “a fun environment.”

“It’s not allowed,” Busfield reportedly told investigators of the touching on set. “There’s no, there’s no protocol. I mean, I’m always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of parents.”

A Warner Bros. internal investigation documented an incident in December 2024 in which “executive producer/director Tim Busfield entered and kissed a minor male on the face” in a hair and makeup trailer that “claimed to have witnessed”.

In the warrant, a police officer wrote, “In my training and experience, pedophiles often infiltrate families under credible roles, such as Timothy, who, as a producer, exploited a busy film set to tickle and touch SL on his penis and buttocks, masquerading it as a game.”

The officer added that Busfield would “invite the family to off-set gatherings, buy his wife Christmas presents to increase closeness, make SL feel special and dependent – classic grooming to erase boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending the abuse into normalcy.”

“This double tactic, when the doting parent secretly violates the child, creates a web of complexity that is difficult to detect, delaying detection, because families believe the face of the abuser,” the officer wrote in the warrant.

In a statement, Melissa Gilbert’s rep said she was “not making a public statement at this time” and was “respecting the request of Tim’s attorneys not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds.”

“During this time, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family as they navigate this moment. Melissa stands by and supports her husband and will address the public at the appropriate time. We ask that you respect their privacy,” the statement added.

If you suspect child abuse, call the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.

Read the original article on People