Timothy Busfield Details Sex Life in Court Filing as He Fights Pretrial Detention

Emmy-winning actor Timothy Busfield, who turned himself in to authorities earlier this week on charges of sexual misconduct involving two young boys, disclosed personal details about his sex life in court documents filed Friday, TMZ reported.

The filings aim to show that Busfield, known for "The West Wing," poses no danger to the public while prosecutors try to keep him in jail. He described himself as a lifelong heterosexual with a healthy sex life with his wife, actor Melissa Gilbert. He also addressed his private habits, saying he occasionally masturbates in the shower but has not done so in roughly six months. He said he has never found pornography "sexually satisfying" and has "always had a visceral response" to it.

Gilbert appeared to support that account. According to the filing, she said pornography has never been part of the couple's sexual relationship and that she has never had "any concerns" about her husband's use of explicit material.

The information is said to relate to a psychosexual evaluation Busfield underwent this week. That evaluation reportedly found a "very low" risk that he would "commit sexual offenses compared to those convicted of a sexual offense." His defense is arguing that the finding is reason enough to release him.

Busfield faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The charges stem from allegations of unlawful conduct involving young twin brothers between November 2022 and the spring of 2024. The boys were child actors on the Albuquerque set of the Fox crime drama "The Cleaning Lady," where Busfield directed multiple episodes. One of the brothers has said the abuse began when he was 7.

The 68-year-old actor has strongly denied wrongdoing and called the allegations "all lies." In a police interview last fall, he suggested the boys' parents wanted revenge because their children had been replaced on the show. He appeared by video from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque on Wednesday afternoon and was ordered held without bail until a hearing on the state's motion to keep him jailed.

In that motion, prosecutors wrote that "his conduct reflects a calculated pattern of grooming, lack of boundaries and exploitation of professional authority to gain access to minors," according to court documents obtained by Deadline. Earlier allegations against Busfield, involving two teenage girls and at least one adult woman, have recently come to light.

In opposing detention, Busfield's lawyers submitted 75 letters of support from friends, colleagues and family, including one from Gilbert, whom he married in 2013. The "Little House on the Prairie" alum called him her "rock [and] partner in business and life," and said he has "the strongest moral compass of any human [she has] ever known," People reported.

"He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others," Gilbert wrote. "He starts every day with kindness and compassion."