‘WEARY WORLD’

Judge Tosses Child Sex Abuse Charges Against ‘West Wing’ Actor

The Emmy winner claims the charges against him were an act of revenge.

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A judge dismissed an indictment against Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield on charges of criminal sexual contact with a child, citing prosecutorial misconduct that undermined the grand jury process. The parents of twin boys who were dismissed from Busfield’s production of The Cleaning Lady claimed that the actor, 69, had touched their children inappropriately. The West Wing star’s attorneys claimed the children initially told police Busfield had not touched them inappropriately and that their parents later coached them after they were dismissed from the show. Busfield publicly denied the allegations, describing them as vindictive. When asked about the allegations, he said, “I’m saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue—never, ever.” Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert, who has been married to Busfield for 13 years, posted a Shakespeare quote to Instagram on Friday, which many interpreted to be a reaction to the news: “So shines a good deed in a weary world.”