Timothy Busfield is seeking testimony from parents of child actors and members of the crew of The Cleaning Lady as he challenges a New Mexico indictment alleging he sexually abused child actors on the series.
Documents filed in court show that Busfield’s legal team wants several parents connected to the programme to be available at an upcoming hearing on his motion to dismiss the indictment.
The defence has also listed a number of crew members, including a director of photography, a hair and make-up worker, a line producer, a Covid nurse and a stand-in actor.
Busfield’s lawyers say prosecutors have known about the witnesses for months and have already received statements from them which they claim challenge the State of New Mexico’s account of events.
Prosecutors are seeking to prevent the witnesses from giving evidence at the hearing. They argue that Busfield’s team took too long to formally disclose the list, leaving the state with insufficient time to prepare.
The defence disputes that argument, saying prosecutors had the witnesses’ names, contact details and statements for months. His lawyers argue that excluding them over a notice issue would be excessive.
Busfield has denied wrongdoing and is seeking to have the indictment dismissed. The allegations relate to his work on The Cleaning Lady, and the hearing will consider his challenge to the case.
