A judge has agreed to release actor Timothy Busfield from jail in New Mexico, where he is facing child sex abuse charges.
Prosecutors allege the Emmy Award-winning actor, 68, inappropriately touched two boys on the set of a television series.
Busfield, who first appeared in court via a video link from jail last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse, has previously called the allegations against him “lies”.
At a court hearing in Albuquerque on Tuesday, he appeared in handcuffs and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit.
Busfield’s lawyers successfully argued that the actor – best known for appearances in The West Wing, Field Of Dreams and Thirtysomething – was not a danger to the community and should not be behind bars while he awaits potential trial.
His wife, actor Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls in the 1970s/80s TV series Little House On The Prairie, was in court for the hearing.
Melissa Gilbert reacts in court to her husband’s release. Pic: AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital Pool Photo via AP
Prosecutors allege Busfield groomed and sexually abused the children.
Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch told the court the allegations against Busfield were “specific and not exaggerated”. She also said witnesses expressed fear about potential retaliation and professional harm.
Busfield’s lawyers suggested the parental claims were an act of revenge after producers decided to replace the children in the series.
Busfield with members of his legal team. Pic: AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital Pool Photo/AP
Judge David Murphy said while the crimes Busfield is accused of inherently are dangerous and involve children, prosecutors did not prove the public would not be safe if he was released.
“There’s no evidence of a pattern of criminal conduct, there are no similar allegations involving children in his past,” he said.
“Rather, this defendant self-surrendered and submitted himself to this court’s jurisdiction, demonstrating compliance with the court order for his arrest.”
Outside the court building, Gilbert thanked the judge for the ruling.
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Busfield became a household name as a White House reporter on The West Wing, which ran from 1999 to 2006, after making his name playing an advertising agency executive in the 1980s ABC ensemble series Thirtysomething.
In the 1989 film Field Of Dreams, he played the brother-in-law of Kevin Costner’s lead character.
