Melissa Gilbert Spoke Out About Child Sex Abuse Weeks Before Husband Timothy Busfield's Arrest Warrant By Nicholas Rice 15

Melissa Gilbert spoke out about child sex abuse in a social media post, weeks before her husband, Timothy Busfield, is now facing an arrest warrant tied to two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.

In an arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and obtained by PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 9, authorities alleged that Busfield, 68, engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys, 11-year-old twins whose identities were withheld from the public, with one of the minors alleging that the incidents began when he was 7 years old.

Only weeks prior, in a Nov. 15 Instagram post, Gilbert, 61, shared a throwback photo of herself and reflected on her Little House on the Prairie experience, when she filmed with an older love interest, played by Dean Butler, who had a multi-year age gap with her at the time.

“So, I debated posting this but, I feel compelled to share. After seeing many women’s posts with the hashtags #iwasfifteen #imfifteen #iwasachild, I decided to Google search myself at that age and see what came up. And this is some of what I found,” Gilbert wrote in her caption.

“And now, at this age, at this time, I am actually nauseated. The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family, is the same girl who was expected to ‘fall in love with’ and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was,” she continued, referring to working with Butler, now 69.

“Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say, ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’ And I was the good news,” added Gilbert. “Thank God my mom and Michael [Landon Sr.] and so many others were there to make sure I was safe. Can you imagine if I hadn’t had them all? I am so fortunate (Sort of). Many other young women aren’t.”

Representatives for both Busfield and Gilbert have not responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

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Gilbert shared the reflective post after Megyn Kelly made comments about convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Kelly, 55, seemingly questioned whether Epstein was a pedophile when she said on the Nov. 12 episode of her Sirius XM program, The Megyn Kelly Show, that Epstein “was into the barely legal type.”

“@Megynkelly you need to be careful with your words,” Gilbert concluded her November Instagram post.

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An investigation into Busfield, who is known for his role as Danny Concannon on The West Wing, began in November 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) alerted police about alleged sexual abuse.

According to the arrest warrant, the victims’ parents told Officer Marvin Kirk Brown that the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX series The Cleaning Lady, where he served as a director. (The television program ran from January 2022 until June 2025.)

The parents were advised by an attorney to take the children to UNMH, where they said professionals suggested the boys “were groomed,” per the warrant. It was later determined, however, that the case did not meet authorities’ acceptance criteria at the time.

Later, in October 2025, the victims’ mother filed a police report and told Child Protective Services (CPS) that “her children both disclosed that there was sexual abuse by Timothy from around November 2022 to Spring 2024.”

However, according to the warrant, she was told that because physical abuse had not occurred, nothing could be done.

During an investigation, Busfield allegedly told police that the parents were upset their sons had been replaced with a younger actor who auditioned, according to the warrant. Shortly after, the actor got a call from Warner Bros., informing him they were investigating a complaint.

Before the recent arrest warrant, Busfield faced prior sexual assault allegations dating back to 1994, according to the warrant. Those did not result in charges.

Gilbert and Busfield crossed paths twice before they began dating, the actress said on the July 29 episode of the I Choose Me podcast.

“We actually first met many, many, many, many years ago in the ’80s, and then we remet in the ’90s. Now, we’ve been together for 13 years,” Gilbert told host Jennie Garth.

The pair reconnected in a bar in 2012. At the time, Gilbert was newly single after splitting from ex-husband Bruce Boxleitner, whom she was married to from 1995 to 2011. Prior to that, she was married to Bo Brinkman from 1988 to 1994.

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Last April, Gilbert celebrated her 12th wedding anniversary, marking the occasion with a tribute to Busfield on Instagram.

She wrote, “12 years of true partnership, love, laughter, compassion, commitment, passion, laughter, cooking, kids, grandchildren, chickens, dogs, creating homes, films, plays, television. 12 years of writing together, traveling, cuddling, delicious meals, romantic getaways, spooning, reflecting, meditating, praying.”

“How lucky I am. I love you @timbusfield,” Gilbert added, also calling her husband “my favorite person, who has my favorite face and my favorite soul.”

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.