Embattled actor Timothy Busfield was dropped by his talent agency on the same day that he appeared inside a New Mexico courtroom for the first time in his child sex abuse case.
Innovative Artists, which is based in Los Angeles and New York, released the 68-year-old actor and director as a client as of Wednesday, Deadline reported.
The agency offered a “fair-sized” team to represent the “West Wing” actor during his several years with the group, according to the outlet.
Timothy Busfield appears in court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Jan. 14, 2026. BACKGRID
Busfield’s career hit came after he entered no plea in his first court appearance on disturbing allegations he sexually abused two young boys on the set of a FOX show he directed.
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The alleged abuse began in 2022, when the boys were 7 years old on the set of “The Cleaning Lady” in New Mexico.
The ‘Field of Dreams’ actor is accused of inappropriately touching one of the boys three or four times, and the other five or six times, according to the arrest warrant filed Friday.
A criminal investigation began in 2024 when a physician notified police about suspected sexual abuse after examining one of the children at the University of New Mexico Hospital, according to the complaint.
Attorneys for Warner Bros., which produced “The Cleaning Lady,” told cops that a prior independent investigation into the allegations found no evidence to support the claims, the complaint alleged.
Busfield surrendered to police and charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. Getty ImagesTimothy Busfield and his wife Melissa Gilbert. @officialmodernprairie/Instagram
Busfield, who is married to former child star Melissa Gilbert, turned himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department on Tuesday.
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Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. He has denied those allegations.
“Tim Busfield denies the allegations in the criminal complaint and maintains they are completely false,” the 68-year-old’s lawyer, Larry Stein, said in a statement to The Post Wednesday.
Follow The Post’s coverage on Timothy Busfield
A third alleged victim, a 16-year-old girl in Sacramento, California, accused Busfield of sexual abuse “several years ago,” according to a motion filed by prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, on Jan. 14.
Colin Swift, the alleged victim’s father, reported the incident to investigators on Jan. 13, according to the motion, which was filed to request pretrial detention and was obtained by The Post. Busfield has not been charged in connection with the 16-year-old’s claim.
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The father claims Busfield kissed his daughter during an audition with the director before he put his hands down the teen girl’s pants and “touched her privates,” at the B Street Theatre, the motion alleges.
Busfield founded the B Street Theatre, which opened as the Theatre for Children in Sacramento in 1986.
The actor was ordered held without bail and is currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. BACKGRID
The director allegedly begged for the family to not report the incident to police “if he received therapy,” according to the motion.
Swift, a therapist, agreed “that was the best thing to do” at the time.
The third abuse claim was made the same day Busfield was arrested.
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The actor was ordered held without bail and is currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque.
The first case is about 2.5 months earlier than the first case last year.
SANTA FE, N.M. – The New Mexico Department of Health reports a Santa Fe County woman died from plague in the state’s first human case of 2026.
NMDOH said it has contacted people close to the woman and will conduct an environmental assessment to check for ongoing risk and make sure no other close contacts have symptoms.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of the woman who passed away due to plague,” said Erin Phipps, state public health veterinarian for NMDOH. “This tragedy emphasizes the need for heightened community awareness and for taking measures to prevent plague infections.”
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What is plague?
Plague is a bacterial disease carried by rodents across much of the western United States, according to NMDOH. People can get it through bites from infected fleas from wild rodents or household pets, through direct contact with infected animals and, in lung infections, through coughing.
NMDOH said symptoms in people include sudden fever, chills, headache and weakness. The agency said people may also have painful swelling of a lymph node in the groin, armpit or neck, and doctors who suspect plague should promptly report it to the department.
How is plague treated or prevented?
The agency said prompt diagnosis and antibiotic treatment can greatly reduce the fatality rate in people and pets. NMDOH urged people to avoid sick or dead rodents and rabbits, clean up places near homes where rodents live, use DEET or permethrin products outdoors, use veterinarian-approved flea control for pets, get sick pets checked quickly and see a doctor for unexplained illness tied to sudden severe fever.
The department said more information and fact sheets in English and Spanish are available on the plague page of the NMDOH website.
Recent cases of plague
New Mexico recorded three human plague cases in 2025 and one in 2024, which was fatal. NMDOH also said three dogs have been diagnosed with plague in 2026 after one cat and four dogs tested positive in 2025.
In a recent appearance on the Santa Fe New Mexican’s Around the Roundhouse podcast with Daniel Chacón, Gregg Hull, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said that receiving a presidential endorsement would be a “pretty cool thing,” though he has not yet requested one.
“I know that the president’s unpopular with some people and that he’s popular with others,” Hull told Chacón. In April, two different polls of New Mexico voters found that just 37% said they supported Trump.
Hull, the former mayor of Rio Rancho, won the Republican primary for governor earlier this month but he still faces an uphill challenge in a state where just 31% of registered voters are Republicans and Trump’s approval ratings are polling at record low numbers, just 37%, in two different polls taken in April.
With Trump’s approval ratings so low, the Democratic Party of New Mexico has been pushing to exploit connections between the President and Hull. “Gregg Hull won’t listen to the challenges New Mexicans are facing and can’t be taken seriously as a candidate in New Mexico if he is willing to welcome the support of Donald Trump,” said Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia. “New Mexicans deserve a governor who will fight to lower costs, strengthen our schools, expand access to health care, and keep communities safe—not a candidate who sees an endorsement from Donald Trump as a ‘pretty cool thing.’”
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Pat Davis is the founder and publisher of nm.news. In a prior life he served as an Albuquerque City Councilor.
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Pat Davis is the founder and publisher of nm.news. In a prior life he served as an Albuquerque City Councilor.
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