What you need to know
Melissa Gilbert has deleted her Instagram account following child sexual abuse allegations against her husband, Timothy Busfield.
As of Sunday, January 11, the actress’ Instagram page is unavailable and previous posts are showing error messages.
When social media users click on Gilbert’s Instagram account, they see a message that says, “Profile is unavailable. The link may be broken or the profile may have been deleted.”
Gilbert, 61, deleted her page after the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) issued an arrest warrant for Busfield, 68, accusing her of engaging in illegal sexual acts with two young boys.
Representatives for Gilbert and Busfield did not respond to multiple requests for comment from PEOPLE.
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In a warrant from APD obtained by PEOPLE, Officer Marvin Brown alleges that 11-year-old twins, whose identities have not been released, were subjected to sex crimes by Busfield. One of the minors claimed that the incident began when he was seven years old.
The investigation into Basfield began in November 2024 after a University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) doctor contacted police about the alleged sexual abuse, according to the warrant.
The victims’ parents told Brown that the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the Fox series “Cleaning Women.” He served as a director on the television show, which aired from January 2022 to June 2025.
The parents were advised by their lawyer to take the children to UNMH. There, he said, according to a warrant, an expert suggested the boys had been “groomed.” However, it was later determined that the case did not meet the acceptance criteria of the authorities at the time.
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In October 2025, the victim’s mother filed a police report and told Child Protective Services (CPS) that both children disclosed sexual abuse by Timothy from approximately November 2022 to spring 2024.
She was told nothing could be done because no physical abuse occurred, according to the warrant.
During the investigation, Busfield, best known for his role as Danny Concannon on “The West Wing,” told police that his parents were upset that their son had been replaced by a younger actor who had auditioned for the role, according to the warrant.
Shortly after, the actor received a call from Warner Bros., informing him that they were looking into the complaint.
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Gilbert and Busfield married in 2013, a year after reuniting at a bar.
Weeks before a warrant was issued for her husband’s arrest, Gilbert spoke out about child sexual abuse in a social media post.
In November, Gilbert shared old photos of himself and reflected on his Little House on the Prairie experience while filming with his older lover, but Gilbert did not allege any inappropriate behavior by the actor. (Gilbert shared a post of remorse after Megyn Kelly made comments about convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.)
Last April, Gilbert celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary and paid tribute to Basfield on Instagram.
“How lucky I am. I love you Timbusfield,” the star wrote, also calling her husband “my favorite person, the man with my favorite face and my favorite soul.”
