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Melissa Gilbert has deactivated her Instagram account amid husband Timothy Busfield’s child sex abuse allegations.
The 61-year-old actress — who spoke out against child abuse on her Instagram account in November — removed her profile after authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Busfield, 68, on Friday.
The warrant alleged that the Emmy-winning director and actor engaged in sexual conduct with two boys.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department filed a criminal complaint in support of the charge, which says a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately.
The incidents allegedly occurred on the set of The Cleaning Lady, a TV series Busfield directed and acted in between January 2022 and June 2025.
The child said the abuse initially occurred when he was seven-years-old and Busfield touched him three or four times. Busfield also allegedly touched him five or six times when he was eight.
Melissa Gilbert has deactivated her Instagram account amid husband Timothy Busfield’s child sex abuse allegations; pictured in January 2025
The 61-year-old actress removed her profile after authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Busfield, 68, on Friday; pictured in October
The warrant alleged that the Emmy-winning director and actor engaged in sexual conduct with two boys; pictured in September 2025
According to an account from People, the Albuquerque Police Department’s Officer Marvin Brown alleged in the warrant that 11-year-old twins were the subject of the sex crimes by Busfield.
The children’s identities are being withheld from the public.
The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge is for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
The kids’ mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
In November Gilbert posted a photo of herself at age 15 to depict how young she was on the set of Little House on the Prairie. She was expected to film mature, romantic scenes with an actor much older than her, something she has a different outlook on today
Gilbert, pictured as Laura Ingalls at age 15, kissed Dean Butler, 24, as Almanzo Wilder in a scene that aired in 1979
Gilbert and Busfield, married since 2013, pictured in 2023
