A judge ordered Timothy Busfield to be released from jail Tuesday as his sobbing wife, Melissa Gilbert, mouthed “thank you, God” during a detention hearing after the actor and director was charged with child sex abuse.
Judge David Murphy ordered that Busfield, 68, be released on his own recognizance until the trial.
He can leave the state to live at home, per the judge’s orders. Busfield will also be supervised upon release by a pretrial service in Albuquerque.
The “Field of Dreams” actor is accused of inappropriately touching two minors while working as a director on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.”
Busfield has denied the allegations.
He was also accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl “several years ago” in Sacramento, California, by prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, in a motion filed on Jan. 14.
“Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false,” Busfield’s lawyer, Larry Stein, told The Post in a statement earlier this month.
The new hearing comes after Busfield’s famous former co-stars showed their support for the actor.
Ken Olin, Patricia Wettig and Peter Horton — all of whom appeared alongside Busfield on the beloved ABC drama “Thirtysomething” between 1987 and 1991 — have penned letters testifying to his character, per Deadline.
“Timothy is my friend, so no doubt I’m biased,” Olin, 71, wrote in his letter, which was included in a new court filing from Busfield’s attorneys in New Mexico. “But I know him well, through many years and many changing life circumstances, and he has always been a man who cares about other people – old and young.”
“I know in the very bottom of my heart that Timothy would never do anything to cruelly exploit or harm anyone, let alone a child,” he added.
Gilbert, 61, and “Thirtysomething” co-creator, Edward Zwick, won an Oscar for producing 1999’s “Shakespeare In Love,” also wrote their own letters of support, per the outlet.
In the filing, Busfield’s attorneys also said there is a lack of evidence.
“The State’s attempt to transform responsible self-surrender into aggravating conduct only underscores the absence of genuine evidence of dangerousness,” a new opposition filing reveals, per Deadline.
“The Motion asks the Court to imprison a man based on a story that has already collapsed under independent scrutiny,” the document filed by Albuquerque attorneys, Amber Fayerberg and Christopher Dodd, read.
“The State offers no reliable proof—only allegations advanced by witnesses with documented histories of fraud and financial exploitation, contradicted by a comprehensive studio investigation, and refuted by witnesses and objective risk assessments. The Constitution does not allow liberty to be forfeited on such a foundation. The State’s Motion should be denied.”
The lawyers added: “For all of these reasons—the independent investigation that undermined the State’s allegations at every turn, the affirmative findings of the polygraph and ABEL assessment, the overwhelming evidence of character and community support, and the absence of any reliable proof of dangerousness—the State cannot meet its burden of clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably protect the community. The Constitution requires release under appropriate conditions.”
Busfield had a warrant put out for his arrest in New Mexico on Jan. 9.
He was accused of inappropriately touching one of the boys three or four times, and the other five or six times, per the warrant.
The alleged abuse started in 2022 when the boys were 7 years old, per court documents.
The allegations were first investigated in November 2024, when a physician notified police about suspected sexual abuse and grooming after examining one of the children at the University of New Mexico Hospital, per the criminal complaint.
Busfield told police it was “highly likely” he touched kids on set, adding there were no rules put in place.
“I mean, I’m always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it,” Busfield, who described the show’s set as a “playful environment,” said during a Nov. 3, 2025, interview, per the arrest warrant.
“I don’t really remember picking those boys up,” he reportedly told investigators. “I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I’d pick him up and he’d be giggling and that would sort of get him ready to act.”
Busfield’s lawyer released a video to TMZ of the “Revenge of the Nerds” vet denying the allegations against him after he surrendered to authorities.
Busfield claimed that he “did not do anything to those little boys” and called the accusations “all lies.”
“I’m going to fight it. I’m going to fight it with a great team, and I’m going to be exonerated,” he detailed in the video. “I know I am because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
With AP