Melissa Gilbert is continuing to stand by her husband’s side.
As Timothy Busfield faces charges of alleged child sex abuse, the Little House on the Prairie star, 61, voiced her support of her husband in a letter to the judge in his case.
In a new filing with the defendant’s response in opposition to the state’s motion for pretrial detention submitted on Jan. 16, 75 letters of support for the actor were included. Many were from family, colleagues and longtime friends.
In Gilbert’s letter, she began by identifying herself as Busfield’s wife and explaining that they briefly met in the 1980s before falling in love in 2012. She wrote, “the reality is that Tim Busfield is my love, my rock, my partner in business and life. He is my comfort and my council. His joy, humor and quick wit bring sparkle to my life. Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.”
“I can tell you, and anyone, that I know Tim better and more intimately than anything in his life ever has. Conversely, he knows me in the same way,” she continued. “Tim has the strongest moral compass of any human I have ever known. He has dedicated his spiritual self to always being of service to others. He starts every day with kindness and compassion.”
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Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield in 2023.VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty
She wrote that on “every single set where Tim is working,” she’s been approached by “multiple people” who say he is “their favorite director ever.” She added, “Actually, people say that to me in restaurants, on red carpets and in grocery stores too. His former students, tell me he was their favorite teacher ever. I cannot tell you how it has warmed my heart over and over again to hear people, from so many different walks of life, tel me they encountered my husband in some way and he is their favorite. He is my favorite.”
She said “one of the great joys of my life” has been watching Busfield interact with her youngest son, Michael.
“Michael was a teenager when Tim and I got together. A full blown, angst-ridden teenager trying to figure out his place int he world,” she wrote. “Tim nurtured and guided Michael. He admonished, praised, loved, consoled, cajoled, fretted, cared for, and fed my son both physically and spiritually. I will never be able to express the depth of gratitude I have to God for bringing this wonderful human into our lives.”
She went on to say that Busfield’s former military training “enhanced for him what he values most; honor, integrity, compassion and care for his fellow human beings. Tim also applies those principles to orders. If he is told to do something, he does it fully and with honor, integrity, compassion and care.”
As she concludes the letter, she acknowledges, “this is the strangest letter I’ve ever had to write.”
“I am trying to tow a line between logic and all the feelings swirling through me. I began this letter with logic, but now the feelings have taken over. I can’t help it,” she said. “I only want this extraordinary man safe and whole. So, I will close by asking you to please, please, take care of my sweet husband. As he is my protector, I am his, but I cannot protect him now and I think that, more than anything else, is what is truly breaking my heart, I am relying on your to protect him for me.”
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Timothy Busfield, Melissa Gilbert in 2025.Miguel McSongwe/BFA.com/Shutterstock
Busfield surrendered to police on Jan. 13 after a warrant for his arrest was issued days earlier by the Albuquerque Police Department, alleging that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys.
He was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse on Jan. 13.
He made his first court appearance on Jan. 14 and is being held without bond. He remains in custody ahead of his pretrial detention hearing on Jan. 20.
In a pretrial detention motion filed on Jan. 14 and obtained by PEOPLE, another accusation of sexual abuse was leveled against him. Colin Swift reported to law enforcement on Jan. 13 that Busfield allegedly sexually abused Swift’s daughter “several years ago” in Sacramento, Calif.
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“While auditioning for [Busfield] at B Street Theatre, the 16-year-old reported that [Busfield] kissed her and put his hands down her pants and touched her privates,” the motion reads.
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Melissa Gilbert and Timothy Busfield at the 62nd Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2022.Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis/Getty
Busfield allegedly “begged the family to not report to law enforcement if he received therapy,” and Swift, being a “therapist himself, thought at the time that was the best thing to do.”
After the new allegation was filed in the pretrial detention motion, Busfield’s civil attorney Larry Stein shared a statement with PEOPLE. “The allegations were never challenged, they were never proved, and they’re 25 years old,” Stein said. “And there doesn’t seem to be any connection between these allegations regarding women 25 years ago and the allegations regarding these young boys.”
In the Jan. 9 warrant, the West Wing star was alleged to have engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys, 11-year-old twins, whose identities were withheld from the public.
Before he turned himself in to authorities on Jan. 13, he filmed himself in a video obtained by TMZ and maintained his innocence.
“Hi everybody, it’s Tim,” the video began. “I’m sure most of you know, that are watching this, that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque – I’m here now. I got the call Friday night, I had to get a lawyer. Saturday, I got in the car, drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I’m gonna confront these lies. They’re horrible.”
“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.”
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Timothy Busfield and Melissa Gilbert during a photocall as part of the 62nd Monte Carlo TV Festival at The Grimaldi Forum on June 20, 2023 in Monaco, Monaco.TheImageDirect.com
Gilbert has been standing by her husband, who she wed in 2012. On Jan. 13, her rep, Ame Van Iden, issued a statement on her behalf that made it clear that Gilbert will not “speak publicly while the legal process unfolds.”
“During this period, her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family, as they navigate this moment. Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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