Actor Timothy Busfield indicted in New Mexico on 4 counts of sexual contact with a child

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — “West Wing” and “Field of Dreams” actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted by a grand jury on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child under age 13, a New Mexico prosecutor announced Friday.

The allegations are tied to Busfield’s work as a director on the set of the TV series “The Cleaning Lady” from 2022 to 2024.

Busfield has denied the allegations, initially filed in court by police, and a defense attorney on Friday said he would “fight these charges at every stage.”

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the indictment in a social media post.

Busfield had turned himself in to authorities in January on related charges by police and was released from jail by a judge who found no pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in Busfield’s past. The grand jury indictment allows the case against Busfield to proceed toward possible trial without a preliminary courtroom hearing on evidence.

Larry Stein, an attorney for Busfield, did not comment directly on the sexual contact charge in the indictment but said the grand jury declined to endorse grooming charges sought by prosecutors. Prosecutors declined to comment on what accusations it brought before the grand jury.

Stein said in a statement that a detention hearing already “exposed fatal weaknesses in the state’s evidence — gaps that no amoun...