Missing actor Timothy Busfield admitted it is ‘highly likely’ he touched kids on set

Actor and director Timothy Busfield allegedly admitted to police that it was “highly likely” he touched kids on the New Mexico set of “The Cleaning Lady,” explaining how there were no specific rules regarding physical contact with children on the show.

The “West Wing” star was questioned by Officer Marvin Brown over whether he had ever had physical contact with the two children at the center of a criminal misconduct investigation against him, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Us Weekly.

Busfield, 68, reportedly said it was “highly likely that he would have,” adding that the set of “The Cleaning Lady” was a “playful environment.”

Investigators with the Albuquerque Police Department are working with the US Marshals Service to track down Busfield after he was hit with two counts of sexual contact with a minor and child abuse.

The boys, who are twins, were 11 at the time of the alleged misconduct in 2024.

Asked what the protocol was for “touching children and picking them up” on set, the married actor reportedly responded that it “wasn’t allowed,” before adding that there was “no protocol” on physical conduct between adults and minors, according to the warrant.

“I mean, I’m always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it,” Busfield said during his police interview on Nov. 3, 2025, according to the arrest warrant.

“I don’t really remember picking those boys up. I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I’d pick him up and he’d be giggling and that would sort of get him ready to act,” he said, according to the warrant.

Busfield reportedly added that tickling a child “wouldn’t be uncommon” for him, but claimed he didn’t remember “overtly tickling the boys ever” in relation to the case.

The actor, who is married to former child star Melissa Gilbert, was also asked by police whether the children’s parents were allowed to watch their kids via iPads while they were working.

Busfield reportedly said parents monitoring their children virtually was “not a standard process,” according to the arrest warrant.

However, the child actors were “never alone on set without the teacher, a welfare worker, or a parent,” he insisted.

Busfield, who has been declared missing, faces two counts of criminal misconduct against a minor — one for each child — according to a warrant issued on Friday by New Mexico Police.

He is accused of inappropriately touching one of the boys three or four times, and the other five or six times, according to the warrant.

One of the boys reportedly said he was “very afraid” of Busfield on the set of the Fox show in 2024, and hadn’t told anyone at the time, “Because Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him, according to the warrant.