Timothy Busfield’s location is reportedly unknown as the U.S. Marshals Service supports efforts to find him after a child abuse arrest warrant was issued<\/b>
\nThe Albuquerque Police Department is receiving federal help to locate Timothy Busfield after a warrant was issued for his arrest last week over alleged child abuse, per multiple reports.
People and TMZ reported on Monday, January 12, that the U.S. Marshals Service is assisting the APD in its efforts to locate Busfield, 68.
An APD spokesperson said that the West Wing alum has not been taken into custody since a warrant for his arrest was issued in New Mexico on Friday, January 9.
The spokesperson told People that they were \u201cnot aware\u201d whether Busfield had been located, detained or arrested as of Monday.
Us Weekly has reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service for comment.
An arrest warrant issued Friday charged Busfield with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and child abuse.
According to the legal documents, obtained by Us, a child actor accused Busfield of touching his \u201cprivate areas\u201d on the set of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady, on which Busfield directed several episodes, when he was 7 years old. The boy alleged that Busfield touched him again several times when he was 8 years old.
An affidavit said the boy was \u201cvery afraid of Tim and was relieved when he was off set,\u201d and noted that the child actor and his twin brother, who was also a child actor on the show, were encouraged to call Busfield \u201cUncle Tim.\u201d
The boy was \u201cwas afraid to tell anyone because Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him,\u201d per the affidavit.
According to the document, the Albuquerque Police Department spoke with Busfield over the phone in November 2025. Busfield was asked if he had ever had any \u201cphysical contact\u201d with the boys, specifically, \u201cif he ever picked them up and tickled them.\u201d
\u201cTimothy said it was highly likely that he would have. Timothy said it was a playful environment,\u201d the document said.
Busfield told the police that any physical contact would have been \u201cin front of the parents\u201d and \u201cthere would never be a weird moment about it.\u201d
He later stated, \u201cI don\u2019t really remember picking those boys up. \u2026 I don\u2019t remember those boys. No, I don\u2018t, I don\u2019t actually, I don\u2019t remember it, if it happened, I don\u2019t remember overtly tickling the boys ever, but it wouldn\u2019t be uncommon for me.\u201d
Per the document, Timothy and his wife, Little House on the Prairie alum Melissa Gilbert, told the interviewing officer that \u201cthey did have a relationship\u201d with the two child actors and their family \u201coutside of work.\u201d
\u201cThey advised that they did buy the two boys Christmas gifts and were together [at] several social functions,\u201d the affidavit reads.
The Cleaning Lady, starring Elodie Yung, aired for four seasons between January 2022 and June 2025 before it was canceled.
In a statement to Variety, Warner Bros. Television, which coproduced the show, said, \u201cThe 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 are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.\u201d
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.<\/p>\n