Busfield appeared remotely on Wednesday via a video link from jail, where he was booked on Tuesday. Whether he remains in jail will be the subject of a detention hearing that will be scheduled within five business days.
Albuquerque police issued a warrant for his arrest last week on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series The Cleaning Lady, which was filmed in the city.
Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert and is known for appearances in The West Wing, Field of Dreams and Thirtysomething, has vowed to fight the charges. In a video shared before turning himself in, Busfield called the allegations lies.
During Wednesday's brief court appearance, Busfield stood silent and expressionless, dressed in orange prison clothes, while a defence lawyer spoke on his behalf.
Prosecutors are seeking to keep Busfield in custody pending trial. They filed a motion on Wednesday pointing to what they described as a documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behaviour by Busfield over two decades. They also said witnesses have expressed fear regarding retaliation and professional harm.
Defence lawyer Larry Stein said Busfield submitted to an independent polygraph test within the past couple of days. There was "no deception — (he) passed the polygraph test," Stein said.
Prosecutors also took issue with Busfield disseminating a video to the media outlet TMZ on Tuesday, suggesting he was prioritising "personal narrative control and public relations" over compliance with the court process.
According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the police department says the child reported that he was seven years old when Busfield touched him multiple times on private areas over his clothing. Busfield allegedly touched him on another occasion when he was eight, the complaint said.
The complaint also says the child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him.
The boy's twin brother told authorities he also was touched by Busfield but did not specify where. He said he didn't say anything because he didn't want to get in trouble.
The mother of the twins reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
In an interview with police last autumn, Busfield denied the allegations and suggested that the boys' mother was seeking revenge for her children being replaced on the series. The argument was echoed by Busfield's lawyer Tuesday.
