Judge Dismisses Child Abuse Charges Against Emmy-Winning Actor Timothy Busfield

A judge in New Mexico has thrown out criminal charges against Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, ruling that prosecutors failed to handle the case fairly. State District Judge Joseph Montano dismissed the indictment on Friday after finding errors that ruined the grand jury process. Busfield had faced four counts of criminal sexual contact involving a child after child actors he worked with on the Fox series The Cleaning Lady accused him of abuse. He denied all the allegations from the start. His lawyers argued that the accusations were made as payback because the children were fired from the show. The defence team also submitted more than 70 character letters and stated that Busfield passed a lie detector test.

Context

Dismissing an indictment means the current charges are cancelled because of legal mistakes in how the case was brought forward, though prosecutors can sometimes review their options. Legal cases involving grand juries require strict fairness from the state to ensure the rights of the accused are protected. Timothy Busfield is best known for his acting work in television and film projects over several decades.