Federal agents conducted a dramatic raid on actor Timothy Busfield’s upstate New York home and forced their way inside with a battering ram and rifles.
Less than an hour after he surrendered to the police, at least ten US Marshals officers from the New York Regional Fugitive Task Force stormed their way into his residence on Tuesday, January 13.
The raid came after Timothy denied allegations of inappropriately touching minor boys on a studio set.
Federal agents conducted a dramatic raid on actor Timothy Busfield’s upstate New York home
Image credits: Albuquerque Police Department/Getty Images
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
After an arrest warrant was issued for Timothy Busfield, the Emmy winner turned himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico, about 2,000 miles from his New York residence.
He remains in custody over charges related to unlawful s**ual conduct with two child actors on the set of the Fox show The Cleaning Lady, which Timothy acted and directed in.
Image credits: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Less than an hour after he turned himself in, federal agents busted through the front door of his New York residence, wearing helmets and riot gear.
The officers were armed with rifles and searched the inside of the house for about 10 minutes.
The officers spent 20 minutes searching the house as well as an RV and outhouse on the property
Image credits: timbusfield/Instagram
After finding nobody inside the house, the officers proceeded to the back of the property and searched the RV parked on the premises.
An outhouse on the property was also searched.
The officers reportedly spent about 20 minutes on the property and did not appear to have taken any items upon leaving.
Image credits: NBC
Timothy was accused of grooming twin boys on the set of The Cleaning Lady, which ran from 2022 to 2025.
The boys were around 7 years old at the time and were allegedly made to call him “Uncle Tim.”
The complaint said he “would tickle them on the stomach and legs, despite them not liking the tickling.”
Timothy is facing allegations of inappropriately touching the two boys on the set
Image credits: Ocean Avenue Entertainment
At the time, the children did not allege any inappropriate touching on set. But a criminal investigation began in 2024 after a physician informed cops about suspecting s**ual ab*se upon speaking to one of the children.
The boys’ parents contacted Child Protective Services in 2025 and said their children spoke about being ab*sed by the director from around November 2022 to spring 2024.
The children were referred to as VL and SL in the affidavit, and one of them is said to have spoken to a therapist about the West Wing star touching his “genitalia” and “bottom” on multiple occasions on set.
At least one of the boys was also diagnosed with PTSD after Timothy’s alleged behavior.
Officials said one of the twins spoke to a therapist about the director touching his private parts multiple times
Image credits: officialmodernprairie/Instagram
Albuquerque PD Officer Marvin Brown described Timothy’s behavior as “classic grooming.”
He said his wife and actress Melissa Gilbert would even buy gifts to make one of the boys feel “special.”
“He would invite the family to off-set gatherings, with his wife buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent-classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending ab*se into normalcy,” Marvin said.
Image credits: officialmodernprairie/Instagram
During an interview with Marvin, Timothy stated that he had engaged in “playful” contact with the boys on set but denied allegations of crossing the line.
He claimed the allegations were part of the parents’ plot to seek revenge after Timothy refused to invite the boys back for the show’s final season. He cast a younger child actor in their place at the time.
Timothy’s lawyer, Larry Stein, claimed that the boys’ mother told another actress on the set that she wanted payback for her twins being excluded from the last season of the show.
The lawyer also shared a video message from Timothy to TMZ, in which the Field of Dreams star called the allegations “lies.”
“They are all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys,” Timothy said in a video statement
Image credits: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
“They are all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys,” the actor-director said. “And I’m going to fight it. I’m going to fight it with a great team, and I’m going to be exonerated. I know I am because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
In the wake of Timothy being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, his wife Melissa expressed support for him through a statement released by a representative.
“Melissa Gilbert is not making public statements at this time,” a representative for the Little House on the Prairie star told the Daily Mail.
“Any purported ‘statements’ circulating online – including AI-generated deepfakes of her ‘breaking her silence’ – should not be treated as coming from her,” the message continued.
Melissa Gilbert expressed support for her husband in light of him turning himself over to the authorities
Image credits: Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center – MDC/Facebook
The statement revealed that Melissa was “honoring” the request of Timothy’s lawyers to refrain from speaking publicly amid the legal process.
The actress’s focus remains on “supporting and caring for their very large family” during this period, they added.
“Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
Netizens had mixed reactions to the news about Timothy Busfield
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