By Danielle Broadway
2026年1月21日 上午10:37 UTC 3小时前更新
1月20日（路透社）- 因在《白宫风云》和《梦幻之地》中饰演角色而闻名的演员兼导演蒂莫西·巴斯菲尔德（Timothy Busfield）周二被下令从监狱获释，等待新墨西哥州一名法官称对其不利的证据”中性”的儿童性虐待指控进一步审理。
检察官指控巴斯菲尔德（其妻子为演员梅丽莎·吉尔伯特）在执导新墨西哥州拍摄的福克斯电视台电视剧《清洁工》（The Cleaning Lady）时，不当触摸了两名年轻演员——一对双胞胎男孩。
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68岁的巴斯菲尔德上周在阿尔伯克基的检察官提起刑事诉讼，指控他虐待儿童和两项与未成年人进行犯罪性接触后自首。他否认所有指控，称这些指控是”谎言”。
“就目前情况而言，根据我面前有限的信息，我认为对被告不利的证据重量目前是中性的，”大卫·墨菲法官在周二的法庭听证会上表示。
法官下令巴斯菲尔德在等待案件进一步审理期间获释。初步听证会定于1月29日举行，届时检察官需要证明有合理理由进入审判程序。
根据随刑事诉讼附带的逮捕令宣誓书，这对双胞胎男孩现年11岁，他们称所谓的接触发生在两年内，当时他们7岁和8岁。巴斯菲尔德是该剧的执行制片人，并于2022年第二季末开始执导剧集。
副地方检察官萨凡纳·布兰登堡-科赫周二在法庭上表示，一名医院医生在11月2024年接到执法部门通知，称男孩们告诉医生巴斯菲尔德有”可能被定性为’培养’的行为”。但她说，男孩们在2025年9月向治疗师指控了实际的性虐待行为。
美国新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基伯纳利洛县法院，2026年1月20日，演员兼导演蒂莫西·巴斯菲尔德在听证会前在场。Sam Wasson/Pool via REUTERS [购买许可权，新窗口打开]
辩护律师克里斯托弗·多德在法庭上反驳称，双胞胎在执法人员询问时否认被巴斯菲尔德性虐待。在法庭播放的采访录音中，执法人员询问每个男孩是否被巴斯菲尔德”触摸隐私部位”，男孩们均回答”没有”。
法官在听证会后表示，所谓受害者的儿童最初否认性虐待”并不罕见”。
多德还在法庭上称男孩的父母是”骗子”，称这对父母在双胞胎被从剧组中移除后想对导演进行”报复”。
应辩方传唤作为证人的《清洁工》摄影指导艾伦·卡比略表示，他从未观察到巴斯菲尔德对男孩有不当行为。他说，男孩们没有参加该剧最后一季的拍摄是因为他们已经超出了角色年龄范围。
在他自首前不久发布的一段视频中，巴斯菲尔德否认了这些指控，称”我没有对那些小男孩做任何事”。
巴斯菲尔德因在1999-2006年NBC政治剧《白宫风云》中饰演白宫记者，以及在1980年代ABC群像剧《三十而立》中饰演广告公司高管而闻名。在1989年电影《梦幻之地》中，他饰演凯文·科斯特纳主角的姐夫。
宣誓书称，在11月警方调查的采访中，巴斯菲尔德承认他可能偶尔会与男孩有身体接触，如挠痒痒或抱起他们，但都是在其他人在场的情况下以嬉戏方式进行的。
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Judge orders Timothy Busfield’s release from jail pending child sex abuse charges
By Danielle Broadway
January 21, 2026 10:37 AM UTC Updated 3 hours ago
Jan 20 (Reuters) – Actor-director Timothy Busfield, known for roles in “The West Wing” and “Field of Dreams,” was ordered to be released from jail on Tuesday as he awaits further proceedings on child sexual abuse charges after a New Mexico judge called the evidence against him “neutral.”
Prosecutors allege Busfield, who is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, improperly touched two young cast members – twin boys – while directing the Fox TV drama “The Cleaning Lady,” which was filmed in New Mexico.
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Busfield, 68, turned himself in last week after prosecutors in Albuquerque filed a criminal complaint charging him with child abuse and two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor. He has professed his innocence, calling the allegations against him “lies.”
“As it stands today, with the limited information I have in front of me, I’ll characterize the weight of the evidence against the defendant as neutral at this point,” Judge David Murphy said at a court hearing on Tuesday.
The judge ordered Busfield released from custody pending further proceedings in the case. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for January 29, during which prosecutors will need to establish probable cause to proceed to a trial.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit that accompanied the criminal complaint, the twin boys, now 11, reported the alleged contact occurred over a two-year period, when they were aged 7 and 8. Busfield was an executive producer of the show and began directing episodes around the end of the second season in 2022.
Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch told the court on Tuesday that a hospital doctor first contacted law enforcement in November 2024 after the boys told the physician that Busfield had engaged in behavior that could be characterized as “grooming.” But she said the boys alleged acts of actual sexual abuse to a therapist in September 2025.
Director and actor Timothy Busfield looks on before a hearing in the Second District Judicial Court at the Bernalillo County Courthouse, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., January 20, 2026. Sam Wasson/Pool via REUTERS [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]
Defense lawyer, Christopher Dodd, countered that the twins had denied they were sexually abused by Busfield under questioning from a law enforcement officer. In the recording of the interview, which was played in court, the officer asks each of the boys if they had been “touched in private areas” by Busfield, and the boys both say, “no.”
The judge said later during the hearing that it’s “not uncommon” for children who are alleged victims to initially deny sexual abuse.
Dodd also described the boys’ mother and father as “scam artists” in court, saying the parents wanted “revenge” on the director after the twins were removed from the series cast.
Called as a witness by the defense, Allan Cabillo, director of photography for “The Cleaning Lady,” said he never observed Busfield behaving inappropriately with the boys. He said the boys did not return for the show’s final season because they had aged out of their roles.
In a video posted online shortly before his surrender, Busfield denied the allegations, saying, “I did not do anything to those little boys.”
Busfield is known for his prime-time television roles as a White House reporter on the NBC political drama “The West Wing,” which ran from 1999 to 2006, and as an ad agency executive on the 1980s ABC ensemble series “Thirtysomething.” In the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” he played the brother-in-law of Kevin Costner’s lead character.
In his own interview with police for the investigation in November, Busfield acknowledged he probably had physical contact with the boys on occasion, like tickling or picking them up, but in a playful manner with others present, the affidavit said.
Reporting by Danielle Broadway in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Evan Garcia; Editing by Steve Gorman and Howard Goller
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