A New Mexico judge dismissed several child sex abuse charges against Emmy Award-winning actor Timothy Busfield on Friday, ruling in his favour. Judge Joseph A. Montano threw out Busfield's indictment at a court hearing, citing prosecutorial misconduct and procedural failures that had compromised the grand jury proceedings.

The court order stated that the prosecuting attorney had not acted with fairness or impartiality, and that proceedings held up to that point had been conducted in ways that ran counter to grand jury statutes put in place to safeguard the structural integrity of that body. State prosecutors had brought charges against Busfield in February, with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child forming the basis of the indictment.

The now-dropped case centred on counts of conduct involving two brothers who worked as actors on Fox's crime drama "The Cleaning Lady." Busfield, known for his roles in "The West Wing" and "Thirtysomething," had entered a not-guilty plea in response to each of those counts.

Busfield's attorney had not replied to a request for comment by deadline. A spokesperson for the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office indicated that prosecutors were still weighing their next steps. A New Mexico judge had moved in January to place Busfield under arrest on charges encompassing two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor alongside one count of child abuse.

An affidavit lodged by New Mexico officials alleges that Busfield made unwanted physical contact with child performers during his work on "The Cleaning Lady," where he held roles as an actor, director, and producer. A former child actor stated that Busfield made unwanted physical contact with his genital area on multiple occasions during filming, beginning when the boy was around seven years of age. A second complainant alleged that Busfield subjected him to repeated inappropriate physical contact on multiple occasions when he was around the age of eight.

Court filings reveal that the affidavit documented a police interview in which Busfield raised the possibility that the boys' mother had sought retribution against the director over a casting decision tied to the final season. In June, Busfield filed a motion to void the indictment, arguing that grand jurors had not been provided with additional material and that other potential witnesses were never called. The motion asserted that prosecutors had used the grand jury as a tool of the prosecution rather than allowing it to function as an independent body, and that the indictment should therefore be set aside. Prosecutors formally contested the motion by filing a response opposing the dismissal.

A jury trial had been placed on the court calendar for 10 May 2027 before the order came down on Friday.