What you need to know
Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert are feeling positive after being released from custody.
The West Wing actor, 68, was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, on Tuesday, January 20, one week after he surrendered to authorities and was charged with child molestation. He also denied the allegations against him.
Early Tuesday, Busfield appeared for a two-hour pretrial detention hearing, where a judge ruled that he would be released on his own recognizance and conditions while awaiting trial.
Busfield’s civil attorney, Larry Stein, exclusively tells PEOPLE that Busfield is “feeling great” following the verdict.
“He might be able to reunite with Melissa,” Stein said, noting that Gilbert, 61, is “very, very excited.”
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The actress appeared in court for the hearing along with her mother Barbara Cowan, 89, her son Michael Boxleitner, and Busfield’s older brother Buck.
After the judge announced Busfield’s release, Gilbert was seen crying in court and whispering “Thank you, God.”
Her whispers in court followed previous support for Ms Busfield, whom she married in April 2013. On January 13, the day Ms. Busfield was indicted, Ms. Gilbert’s attorney, Ame Van Eyden, released a statement on her behalf saying, “Melissa stands by and supports her husband.”
And on Jan. 16, the Little House on the Prairie star was one of 75 people to write a letter supporting Busfield’s defense team’s opposition to the state’s motion for pretrial detention.
Her letter expressed her admiration for her husband, and at the end she implored him, “Please, be kind to me.”
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On January 9, the Albuquerque Police Department issued a warrant for Bassfield’s arrest. Four days later, Busfield turned himself in to authorities and was formally charged with two counts of sexual contact with a minor (a child under 13) and one count of child abuse, prosecutors said.
According to the warrant, Busfield is suspected of engaging in illicit sexual acts with two boys, who are 11-year-old twins, whose identities have not been released.
“I didn’t do anything to those little kids. I’m going to fight,” he said in a video obtained by TMZ before turning himself in.
In a Jan. 20 ruling, the judge cited Busfield’s surrender, saying, “By turning himself in, this defendant has submitted to the jurisdiction of this court and has shown that he has complied with the order for his arrest.”
“We do not believe the state has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that there are no conditions of release that reasonably protect the safety of youth in the community,” the judge continued.
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Busfield has been ordered to appear in all future court appearances and is prohibited from possessing firearms or dangerous weapons, consuming alcohol or illegal drugs, having contact with the alleged victim or her family, discussing the incident with witnesses, and having unsupervised contact with minor children.
He is allowed to travel. However, he will be under the supervision of New Mexico Pretrial Services and must notify the court of his address.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. Our hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.
