A New Mexico judge has dismissed the indictment against actor Timothy Busfield on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, and the ruling centers on how the prosecution handled the case, not the allegations themselves. Judge Joseph Montaño cited prosecutorial misconduct, ruling that the prosecuting attorney failed to act fairly and impartially, improperly instructed the grand jury on the law for calling witnesses, and used a procedure that effectively withheld witnesses who had been requested. The dismissal came nearly four months after Busfield’s attorneys moved to quash the indictment.
Busfield, 69, was indicted in February over alleged incidents on the set of The Cleaning Lady between 2022 and 2024. He has pleaded not guilty and consistently denied any wrongdoing. His civil attorney, Stanton“Larry”Stein, responded to the ruling by stating,“Timothy Busfield is innocent,”and calling the prosecutorial conduct during grand jury proceedings egregious.
The key takeaway: this does not mean the case is closed. The state is free to institute new criminal proceedings against Busfield, meaning the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office could refile charges if it chooses. For now, the indictment is off the table, and the spotlight shifts to whether prosecutors will try again. What do you think, should the state refile, or is this case done?
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Local Lawton
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