Melissa Gilbert is “grieving” her old life following husband Timothy Busfield’s arrest over allegations of sexual contact of a child.
Melissa Gilbert is “grieving” her old life following husband Timothy Busfield’s arrest.
The 68-year-old actor was indicted by a grand jury on February 6 on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child and four days later, he pleaded not guilty, and his wife has now spoken out for the first time about going through the “most traumatising experience” of their lives.
The Little House on the Prairie star has insisted her husband is innocent but even if a court agrees, she knows there will always be a cloud hanging over him.
In a preview for her upcoming interview on Good Morning America obtained by People magazine, interviewer George Stephanopoulos asked Melissa what things have been like for her.
The 61-year-old star replied: “Hell. This has been the most traumatising experience of our lives.
“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.
“For Tim, it’s done. He’s cancelled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.”
Melissa insisted she doesn’t believe her husband has done anything wrong.
She added: “[He’s] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. 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.”
A representative for the actress told People that she and her husband’s lawyer, Larry Stein, wanted to sit for the interview because Melissa had “decided it was time to sit down to clarify the facts of the case, which seem to have become lost to distraction, selective information and click bait.”
The West Wing actor Busfield turned himself in and was booked by authorities on January 13, just four days after the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) issued a warrant for his arrest.
The warrant came after it was alleged that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys.
On January 20, the Field of Dreams actor was released with conditions while awaiting trial.
The conditions include that he is not allowed to possess any firearms or dangerous weapons, consume any alcohol or illegal drugs, have contact with the alleged victims or their families, discuss the case with any witnesses or have unsupervised contact with any minor children.
Busfield has denied all the charges, saying in a video obtained by TMZ: “I did not do anything. They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it. I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies.”
Melissa Gilbert defends Timothy Busfield following arrest
