Melissa Gilbert wants “freedom” from her husband Timothy Busfield‘s child sex abuse case. In a recent interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, Gilbert said she is “100 percent confident he will be exonerated,” but noted that “there is a practical side to this, and we do have to be prepared for all scenarios.”
Busfield has been formally charged with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child. The 68-year-old was arrested in January on accusations related to twin child actors he worked with on the Fox television series The Cleaning Lady. He denies the accusations, calling them “horrible lies.” He pleaded not guilty to all four counts in February.
The four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child correspond to Busfield’s alleged conduct with only one of the boys, according to the two-page indictment obtained by Rolling Stone. The counts appear to relate to two separate incidents, one that occurred between Oct. 19, 2022 and Sept. 10, 2023, and a second that occurred between Sept. 11, 2023 and May 30, 2024.
Gilbert is hoping for “exoneration, an apology, freedom from this cloud” in the case set to go to trial in May 2027. “Our marriage has, you know, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through struggles, we’ve had our own issues to deal with and we worked through everything,” she said. “He’s nothing if not completely honest with me. I trust him with my children’s lives, with my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews. He is an honorable, caring, generous human being.”
Last week, in a preview of the episode, Gilbert said, “Our life as we knew it is done. We are grieving what we had — all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects.” She acknowledged then that “even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.” She added, “And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison.”
www.rollingstone.com
#Melissa #Gilbert #Freedom #Timothy #Busfield #Child #Abuse #Case
