Melissa Gilbert cryptically shared a quote from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” as she celebrated the dismissal of her husband Timothy Busfield’s child sex abuse charges.
“This is how a good deed shines in a weary world,” said Gilbert, 62. Posted on Instagram on Friday A New Mexico judge dismissed charges against the 69-year-old actor, who was accused of inappropriately touching twin boys on the set of “The Cleaning Lady.”
This line, which was performed by Gene Wilder in the 1971 film, was said when Charlie Bucket returns the Everlasting Gobstopper instead of betraying Willy Wonka.
It was adapted from William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, in which Portia says, “A good deed shines so brightly in a naughty world,” after watching a candle burn in her home and pondering how a good deed can stand in a troubled world.
State District Judge Joseph Montano cited prosecutorial misconduct and errors in dismissing the indictment against the “Thirtysomething” actor, which undermined the grand jury proceedings.
Busfield’s attorney, Amanda Fairberg, said Friday that her client was “relieved and grateful” after the judge read the decision.
Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek a second indictment.
The case concerns Busfield’s work directing the TV series “The Cleaning Lady” in Albuquerque between 2022 and 2024.
The parents of twins who appeared on the show alleged that the actor touched their children inappropriately after being let go from production.
According to a criminal complaint filed in January, a boy told investigators that Busfield twice touched his private areas over his clothing when he was 7 and 8 years old.
The complaint said his twin brother was also touched, although it did not say where.
busfield turned myself in and was released pending trial.
The ‘West Wing’ actor has repeatedly denied the allegations.
In June, their lawyers moved to dismiss the indictment, accusing prosecutors of mishandling the grand jury process and arguing that the boys’ parents had coached them to make incriminating statements after losing their roles.
At the September hearing, Feuerberg accused prosecutors of preventing grand jurors from hearing key witnesses, despite their availability to testify.
“The state has engaged in gross prosecutorial misconduct,” he said.
District Attorney Greer Staley pushed back, saying that the defense made mistakes in presenting evidence and that Busfield spent three hours trying to lead jurors to witnesses and evidence that favored him.
The “Field of Dreams” actor told jurors the case turned his life upside down and affected his family. He also testified that he was “canceled” by his agency and fired.
Addressing the allegations, Busfield said, “I’m saying this is absolutely a billion percent lie. Never.”
The indictment carried a potential six-year prison sentence on each count, which could be extended.
The legal battle also coincides with a big move for Gilbert, who married Busfield in 2013.
In June, the “Little House on the Prairie” star shared photos of moving boxes as she prepared to leave the Manhattan apartment she and Busfield had called home for eight years and move up full-time.
“Such a perfect little one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side. The last eight years here have been so special,” he wrote.
She added, “I promise we’ll be right back… well… you know.”
with wires