Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert is sticking by her man. The actress has written a letter of support for her husband Timothy Busfield, which was included alongside 75 other letters from family, friends and colleagues, calling for the judge to keep him "safe".
"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," she wrote, adding: "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."
Shakespeare in Love filmmaker Edward Zwick, producer Marshall Herskovitz, and Thirtysomething co-star Ken Olin are among those who have also written letters.
Melissa and Timothy met in the 1980s but reunited in 2012, and she revealed that "one of the great joys of my life" had been watching her husband connect with her son, Michael.
"Michael was a teenager when Tim and I got together. A full blown, angst-ridden teenager trying to figure out his place in the 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."
At the end of the letter, Melissa wrote: "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. 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 you to protect him for me."
The 68-year-old The West Wing actor turned himself in to the police on Tuesday January 13 after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
A statement given to HELLO! from Stanton 'Larry' Stein, who is the civil attorney for Timothy, reads: "This morning, Tim voluntarily appeared before New Mexico authorities after traveling across the country to confront these false and deeply troubling allegations. He is innocent and is determined to clear his name."
He was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The charges relate to a claim made by the mother of 11-year-old twins that Timothy allegedly groomed and assaulted them on the set of FOX's The Cleaning Lady.
A pretrial detention motion was later filed, claiming that a 16-year-old girl was also one of his alleged victims. Timothy has been accused of inappropriately touching a then-16-year-old girl when she auditioned for a role at the B Street Theatre in California, which he founded in 1986. Timothy remains a board member there.
Timothy has denied all the accusations.