Jan. 14 (UPI) — Actor Timothy Busfield did not enter a plea during an arraignment hearing on Wednesday in New Mexico, and another child actor has accused him of sexual assault.
Busfield appeared remotely via video during his arraignment hearing in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque on Wednesday, where he is charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact involving a minor and one count of child abuse.
Busfield, 68, is being held without bail in the county’s detention center, partly due to a new complaint of sexual assault filed on Tuesday by the father of another child actor, NBC News and ABC News reported.
The father of a 16-year-old girl on Tuesday accused Busfield of sexual assault during an audition in California several years ago.
The girl alleged Busfield “kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” New Mexico prosecutors said in a filing made on Wednesday.
The prosecutors presented the claim as evidence of why Busfield should remain in jail while his case proceeds.
Busfield allegedly asked the girl’s family not to report the claimed assault if he received therapy, according to the girl’s father, who is a mental health therapist and agreed to the request.
Busfield’s attorney denied the claim in a statement made on Wednesday.
“Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false. As a voluntary step, he submitted to an independent polygraph examination regarding those allegations and passed,” the attorney said.
Busfield surrendered himself to local police on Tuesday after learning a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
In November, he spoke with Albuquerque Police Department officer Marvin Brown by phone and said the mother of the two boys had told another cast member that she would get revenge for Busfield not bringing her sons back for the final season of “The Cleaning Lady.”
An independent investigator hired by Warner Bros. looked into the claims against Busfield and on Wednesday said she found no evidence that supported the claims against the actor, who was a director as well as a cast member of the television show.
Busfield’s non-criminal attorney, Larry Stein, also said Busfield volunteered to take a polygraph test and passed it.
Busfield is an Emmy Award-winning actor and is married to actress Melissa Gilbert.
