Melissa Gilbert 'stands with' husband Timothy Busfield amid child sex abuse allegations
Melissa Gilbert has formally broken her silence on the child sex abuse allegations against her husband, Timothy Busfield.
In a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly, Ame Van Iden, a representative for Gilbert, said, "Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time. Any purported 'statements' circulating online — including AI-generated deepfakes of her 'breaking her silence' should not be treated as coming from her. She is honoring the request of Tim's lawyers not to speak publicly while the legal process unfolds."
The statement continued, "During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment. Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected."
Gilbert and Busfield have been married since 2013.
“The Little House on the Prairie” star recently deactivated her personal social media accounts. Her business account, Modern Prairie, has remained active, but on Wednesday, the brand canceled a virtual Q&A set for January 16.
A warrant for her husband, “West Wing” alum Timothy Busfield, was issued on January 9 in New Mexico.
Busfield surrendered himself to authorities on Jan. 13 and released a video denying all allegations, saying, "They're all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I'm gonna fight it. I'm gonna fight it with a great team, and I'm gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies."
The actor has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse. According to The Albuquerque Police Department, Busfield allegedly touched 11-year-old twin boys inappropriately while directing Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady” in 2024, per the New York Post.
He is facing an additional accusation that came to light in a pretrial detention motion filed on Jan. 14, originally obtained by People. The motion says, “another victim’s father,” Colin Swift, reported to law enforcement that Busfield had allegedly sexually abused his daughter during an audition at the theater he owned, the B Street Theater, known at the time as the Theatre for Children, Inc.
Busfield allegedly "begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy," and Swift, a “therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”
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