Melissa Gilbert speaks out on husband’s arrest: ABC News exclusive

[0:00] ABC News exclusive with actress Melissa Gilbert, and George, you sat down with her. [0:04] Yeah, I did. Of course, her husband, Timothy Buzzfield, has been accused, [0:06] has been charged with this sexual contact with a minor, and she was really just determined to speak out. [0:13] Why speak out now? [0:14] It's time. We've been hearing and reading too much untruth, and we felt that the time was right to speak out. [0:24] Also, honestly, I wasn't capable until now. It's been a very traumatic time. [0:28] In February, Timothy Buzzfield was indicted by an Albuquerque grand jury [0:32] on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor. [0:36] Buzzfield has pled not guilty. He's scheduled to go on trial next year. [0:40] The charges stem from allegations Buzzfield inappropriately touched a child actor [0:45] on the set of a TV show he was directing called The Cleaning Lady, [0:48] when the child was between seven and eight years old. [0:51] When did you enter the U.S.? [0:52] According to the criminal complaint, last September, a therapist who interviewed the child [0:56] documented him disclosing his... [0:58] ...having nightmares about the director touching him and waking up scared. [1:02] Allegations Buzzfield denied in this video obtained by TMZ. [1:06] I'm going to confront these lies. They're horrible. They're all lies. [1:10] And I did not do anything to those little boys, and I'm going to fight it. [1:18] Buzzfield's attorneys allege the parents of twin child actors on the show [1:21] blamed Buzzfield when their sons were recast in 2024 and wanted revenge. [1:27] Claiming in court documents, a witness heard the boy's mother... [1:29] ...say that if her children were not brought back, she would get Timothy Buzzfield. [1:34] The criminal complaint doesn't just reference what the parents said. [1:37] It, of course, references what the boys said in these interviews. [1:41] What the boys said originally was, he never touched me. [1:46] They were both asked at the time, and they were specifically asked, [1:51] you know what's appropriate, you know where touching is appropriate. [1:55] Did he ever touch you in any inappropriate... [1:59] And both boys said no. [2:00] But in subsequent interviews... [2:01] In subsequent interviews, one of the boys did say he was touching... [2:03] One of the boys in that interview was preceded by the father telling the boy [2:11] when he would wake up at night that he was having nightmares. [2:15] The boy would say, and we have this in the records, [2:19] the boy would say, I wasn't having nightmares, I was just hot or cold. [2:23] And the therapist said, well, why didn't you tell your father that you weren't having nightmares? [2:28] He said, because I didn't want to disappoint him. [2:30] But the prosecution contends the alleged... [2:32] Touching was first reported by a therapist, not the parents. [2:35] One of the other things the criminal complaint says is that you had some kind of relationship [2:40] with the family, with the boys and the parents. [2:43] And I'll just quote it, and you can respond to that. [2:45] They advised that they did buy the two boys Christmas gifts [2:48] and were together on several social functions. [2:50] Tim did not give the boys gifts. [2:53] Melissa gave them gifts. [2:54] Melissa gave them and every other child at a Christmas party a gift. [2:59] Every child at the Christmas party, not treating them special, [3:02] or different than anyone. [3:04] So is your contention just that the parents and the boys are just making this all up? [3:08] Absolutely. [3:09] The father, the father, the boys are victims in this case. [3:14] They're victims of the parents, not victims of Tim. [3:17] Busfield's attorney accused the parents of seeking financial gain. [3:20] And when they were fired, they assumed Tim was responsible for it. [3:26] The truth is he was not. [3:28] ABC News reached out to the parents of the children, but did not hear back. [3:31] In a statement to ABC News, [3:33] Colonel Leo, county district attorney whose office is prosecuting Busfield, [3:36] said a neutral grand jury indicted the defendant. [3:39] This office follows her ethical duty to only proceed on cases [3:42] where a good faith basis exists to prosecute. [3:45] The criminal complaint also includes references to two women [3:48] who had accused Timothy of sexual assault back in 1994 and 2012. [3:53] He settled one of the cases. [3:54] Were you aware of these cases before the criminal complaint? [3:57] I got this one. [3:59] I need to make something really abundantly clear. [4:03] These allegations have been out in the ether for a very long time. [4:07] That means you knew about them. [4:08] When Tim and I got together, the Internet existed. [4:11] I didn't go into my relationship with him blind. [4:13] I am neither naive nor am I complicit. [4:15] I talked to him about it. [4:16] I asked him questions about it. [4:18] I heard his side of the story, which no one has ever heard, which is the truth. [4:21] And when the time is right, and that is not now, [4:23] Tim will tell the truth of all of these past allegations when he needs to. [4:27] What the prosecution is saying, though, [4:30] and they cite other reports of other women making allegations, [4:33] that this is part of a pattern. [4:35] But the pattern is supposedly that someone who is powerful, [4:39] who will do something to someone, [4:41] who won't report it because they're powerful. [4:44] A six- or seven-year-old boy is not going to not report [4:48] something they're uncomfortable about because of the power of a director. [4:53] Maybe a woman who wants to be in film or television. [4:56] Little boys can be scared. [4:57] But little boys were asked specifically whether it happened, [5:03] and they specifically said, [5:04] it did not happen. [5:06] What has this whole episode been like for you? [5:08] Hell, this has been the most traumatizing experience of our lives. [5:15] Our life as we knew it is done. [5:18] We are grieving what we had. [5:20] All of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects. [5:25] For Tim, it's done. [5:27] He's canceled, even if he's exonerated. [5:29] He will always be that guy, the last person in the world who would hurt a child. [5:36] And believe me, if I thought for a second, [5:38] that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he'd have a lot more to worry about than prison. [5:41] No moments of doubt? [5:42] Not for a second. [5:44] I know this man in my bones. [5:46] No one knows him better than I do. [5:47] I know literally everything about him. [5:50] Our marriage has, you know, we've had a lot of ups and downs. [5:53] We've been through struggles. [5:54] We've had our own issues to deal with, and we've worked through everything. [5:58] He is nothing if not completely honest with me. [6:00] I trust him with my children's lives, with my grandchildren's lives, my nieces and nephews. [6:07] He is... [6:09] He is an honorable, caring, generous human being. [6:14] And you're confident he'll be exonerated? [6:17] Oh, absolutely. [6:17] I am 100% confident he will be exonerated. [6:21] But I will tell you that there is a practical side to this, [6:24] and we do have to be prepared for all scenarios. [6:27] What will justice look like in this case? [6:32] Exoneration and apology, freedom from this cloud. [6:40] Very forceful and emotional response from her there. [6:42] As I said, we did reach out to the parents of the kids, and they did not respond to us. [6:46] We'll see. [6:46] This will all play out in court. [6:47] Like you said, very strong in her defense of him. [6:49] All right. [6:50] Good job. [6:50] Thank you, George.