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NEED TO KNOW
Actor and director Timothy Busfield was order to pay $150,000 in 1996 for a case involving the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl, per a report
Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, was reportedly ordered to pay the amount to a law firm in Minneapolis after he claimed the firm fabricated the case against him
A warrant was issued for Busfield's arrest on Jan. 9 after authorities alleged he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys
A judge once ordered actor and directorTimothy Busfieldto pay $150,000 to a Minneapolis law firm after rejecting Busfield's claim that the firm fabricated a sexual assault case against him, per a report.
In 1996, U.S. District Judge James Ideman ordered the actor, who is married to actressMelissa Gilbert, to reimburse the firm Messerli & Kramer the amount it cost to defend itself in a defamation suit filed by Busfield. After Busfield appealed, the parties settled the defamation case.
Busfield, 68, who is best known for playing the character of Danny Concannon onThe West Wing,had claimed the firm made up a story that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl, perDeseretNews.com. The girl was an extra on the 1993 movieLittle Big League,which he directed, according to the outlet.
According to DeseretNews.com, Busfield settled the underlying lawsuit with the girl for an undisclosed amount.
PEOPLE reached out to representatives for Busfield, as well as for Messerli & Kramer, on Saturday, Jan. 10, but did not receive an immediate response.
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TheThirtysomethingactor is currently facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
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In an arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Department and obtained by PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 9, authorities allege that Busfield engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys who are related and whose identities were withheld from the public.
One of the minors alleged the incidents began when he was 7 years old.
An investigation began on Nov. 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged sexual abuse.
According to Officer Marvin Kirk Brown, who issued the warrant, the victims' parents said the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX seriesThe Cleaning Lady,where Busfield served as a director.
In the warrant, Officer Brown mentioned the aforementioned defamation case. "I discovered that Timothy Busfield has faced accusations of sexual assault, with two seperate [sic] incidents reported in the media, one in the 1990s and another around 2012."
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"First allegation occurred in 1994. A seventeen-year-old extra onLittle Big Leaguesued in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming Busfield assaulted her, served her alcohol, groped her, atempted [sic] sex in a trailer," the officer wrote. Per the warrant, Busfield denied the allegations and counter sued for extortion. That dispute settled, and his later "defamation bid against her lawyers got tossed, leaving him to foot nearly one hundred fity thousand dollars in costs. No charges filed." (After Busfield appealed the costs award, the parties settled the case.)
The warrant also lists a second allegation, this one dating from March 18, 2012. "A twenty-eight-year-old woman accused Busfield of battery in an LA movie theater—alleging he slipped hands under clothes, touched genitals for four minutes," per the arrest warrant. There was no lawsuit filed and prosecutors "passed due to slim evidence," the warrant states, adding that Busfield "called it consensual."
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In a statement to PEOPLE, a Warner Bros. Television representative said, "The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action."
"[We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement," the spokesperson added.
Reps for FOX did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
The Cleaning Ladyran from January 2022 until June 2025.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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