Judge Dismisses Timothy Busfield’s Indictment on Child Sex Abuse Charges Citing Prosecutorial Misconduct

Skip to content “The prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner,” Judge Joseph Montano writes in his ruling October 16, 2026 @ 2:29 PM Timothy Busfield (Credit: Sam Wasson/Getty Images) Timothy Busfield, who was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse, has had the case against him dismissed. The third-degree felonies stem from allegations from October 2022 and September 2023, when Busfield was directing two child actors on the set of “The Cleaning Lady.” New Mexico Judge Joseph Montano ruled Friday that the case was being dismissed because the prosecuting attorney did not “act in a fair and impartial manner.” “The prosecuting attorney failed to act in a fair and impartial manner, including the failure to properly instruct the grand jury on the law for calling witnesses and in instructing the grand jurors on a procedure that effectively withheld requested witnesses,” Judge Joseph Montano wrote. “In doing so, the grand jury proceedings were conducted in a manner that violated grand jury statutes designed to protect the structural integrity of our grand jury system and the presumption of prejudice applies.” Busfield, who pled not guilty to the four felony counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor back in February, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case. A warrant for Busfield’s arrest was issued Jan. 9, after allegations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with two 11-year-old boys while he served on “The Cleaning Lady” as director and executive producer. He surrendered to authorities on Jan. 13. More to come…