While requesting Timothy Busfield’s release as he awaits trial for child sex abuse allegations, the director-actor’s lawyers argued that the parents of his underage accusers are motivated by money and revenge, citing their “extraordinarily checkered” pasts.
The West Wing alum, 68, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse in New Mexico on Tuesday, Jan. 13, after surrendering to Albuquerque police. The warrant for his arrest alleged that he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with 11-year-old twin boys who were child actors on the set of the FOX series *The Cleaning Lady*, where Busfield served as a director.
Busfield, who is married to actress Melissa Gilbert, has denied all child sex abuse crimes and said in a video obtained by TMZ that he plans to “confront these lies” and “fight.”
In a new opposition court filing submitted on Friday, Jan. 16, Busfield’s lawyers opposed the state’s motion for pretrial detention by, in part, taking aim at the parents of the accusers, Angele LaSalle and Ronald Rodis, citing their “disturbing” histories of alleged fraud, scamming, and more. The filing also claims LaSalle was previously heard stating that she “would ‘get her revenge against Tim Busfield.’”
The filing, obtained by PEOPLE on Saturday, Jan. 17, argues that “the State offers no reliable proof, only allegations advanced by witnesses with documented histories of fraud and financial exploitation, contradicted by a comprehensive studio investigation, and refuted by witnesses and objective risk assessments.”
The state’s case against Busfield, the actor’s lawyers argue in the filing, “rests almost entirely on the accounts” of the “two stage parents,” who “are not neutral observers.”
“Their allegations emerged only after the loss of the twins’ role and only after consultation with civil counsel, creating an obvious financial and retaliatory motive,” the filing states, referring to the child actors’ alleged 2024 recasting in *The Cleaning Lady*, which ran from January 2022 until June 2025. “That motive must be evaluated against the couple’s well-documented history of fraud and dishonesty,” it adds.
### Allegations Against the Accusers’ Parents
First taking aim at the twins’ father, Rodis, the filing claims that his alleged past conduct points to “his willingness to manipulate narratives when money is at stake,” and argues that Rodis is “leveraging a crisis to generate personal financial gain.”
The filing states that Rodis “is a former attorney who was convicted of federal conspiracy and wire fraud and was later disbarred following that prosecution for a multi-million-dollar scheme in which he used his law license to deceive vulnerable victims for profit.” Rodis previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after the scheme, which “defrauded more than 1,500 homeowners of approximately $6 million,” was brought to light, according to the filing.
Additionally, testimony from a director of photography on *The Cleaning Lady* set described Rodis as “pushy and manipulative” and said that he would “frequently encourage and tell the children to hug people on set, including Mr. Busfield.”
The accusers’ mother, LaSalle, has an “equally disturbing history,” the filing states, citing that she “has had multiple civil judgments entered against her for fraudulent and dishonest behavior.” She was sued for “various claims including fraud, conversion, and fraudulent transfer,” including allegedly unlawfully repossessing a Bentley car after selling it and writing bad checks to Las Vegas casinos, according to the filing.
“The fact of the matter is that the parents driving the allegations against Mr. Busfield have an extraordinarily checkered past that casts enormous doubt on the truthfulness of their statements,” the filing states.
Busfield’s lawyers also argue that the parents are motivated by revenge, in addition to money.
PEOPLE was unable to reach attorneys for Rodis and LaSalle.
### Background and Investigations
An investigation into Busfield previously began on Nov. 1, 2024, after a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital alerted police about alleged sexual abuse.
According to the filing, a separate, independent investigation conducted by Warner Bros. Television Studios in 2025 “found not only that allegations against Mr. Busfield were unfounded, but also that Angele LaSalle, after hearing that her children might not be returning for a fourth season, stated to the show’s lead actor that she would ‘get her revenge against Tim Busfield.’”
In a statement to PEOPLE, a Warner Bros. representative said, “The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. [We] have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”
https://people.com/timothy-busfield-lawyers-claim-parents-of-alleged-sex-abuse-victims-have-history-of-fraud-11887859
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