Prosecutors Want Busfield Held Without Bail

Actor-director Timothy Busfield is facing a third accusation of sexual misconduct involving a minor, this one from a then-16-year-old girl in California, according to newly filed court documents. In a pretrial detention motion submitted Wednesday in New Mexico, prosecutors say a man named Colin Swift told law enforcement on Tuesday that Busfield abused his daughter years ago at Sacramento's B Street Theatre, which Busfield founded in 1986, People reports.

• The motion states the girl reported that, during an audition, Busfield kissed her, put his hands down her pants, and touched her genitals. "The defendant begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy," the motion states. Swift, a "therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do."

• The new claim surfaces as Busfield, 68, already faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse in New Mexico. An arrest warrant issued Jan. 9 alleges he sexually abused 11-year-old twin boys he met while directing episodes of Fox's The Cleaning Lady, with one boy saying the conduct began when he was 7.
• Busfield, best known for The West Wing and Field of Dreams and married to actor Melissa Gilbert, surrendered to Albuquerque police on Tuesday and has publicly denied all accusations. In a video obtained by TMZ, he called the claims "lies" and said, "I did not do anything to those little boys… I'm gonna be exonerated."

• Busfield is due to make an initial court appearance Wednesday. Prosecutors want Busfield held in custody pending trial, saying he has shown "a sustained pattern of predatory conduct," Variety reports. They argue that the pattern shows he is a continuing danger to children and that supervision or conditional release would not adequately protect minors.
• Court records and earlier reports show Busfield has previously been linked to other allegations, including a 1990s case involving a 17-year-old extra on Little Big League that ended in a settlement, and a 2012 California complaint in which a woman accused him of groping her in a movie theater, People reports. Prosecutors declined to file charges in that incident.
• Warner Bros. Television, which produces The Cleaning Lady, said it is cooperating with law enforcement and emphasized that the safety of minors on its sets is a priority.

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