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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE STAR BREAKS COVER AFTER SEX CHARGES: WHAT DID SHE KNOW?
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- [00:00]
Nancy Grace
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. This February, Aldous Hodge returns as Alex Cross, your favorite detective on television for season two of the hit show Cross, premiering February 11th exclusively on Prime Video. Fresh off his capture of the infamous serial killer, the fanboy Cross teams up with the FBI to hunt down a vigilante serial killer targeting corrupt billionaires.
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Karen Stark
As.
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Nancy Grace
As the case unfolds, Cross navigates a moral crossroads where the lines between justice and vengeance are blurred. Catch season two of Cross, with new episodes dropping weekly starting February 11, only on Prime Video. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Little House on the Prairie star breaks cover after very disturbing sex charges. What exactly did she know? And when this as Hollywood royalty brands the suspect a creep. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. The argument in court that this whole child sex abuse claim is fabricated over revenge, one of the boys reported to his counselor at the time, allegedly that.
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Josh Colesrude
Timothy had touched him in the front.
- [01:28]
Nancy Grace
On his privates and in the back on his privates. Two little boys victimized being used as pawns by probably all parties involved. What exactly did the Little House on the Prairie star know about claims of child sex abuse? What did she know? And when this as that Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert in the last hours breaks cover and takes to social media. Look. What are they doing? Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Gilbert apparently is eating dessert and dancing in her kitchen. Now, I'm all about eating dessert and dancing in your kitchen. But right now there are serious claims of child sex abuse and other alleged victims are speaking out, including Hollywood royalty. The golden couple in Hollywood. Nobody's arguing with that. I'm talking about the family of pretty woman Julia Roberts claiming bus filled, stopped her. You know what that's called? Putting your head in the sand and your tail in the air. Putting your head in the sand and your tail in the air. Nothing's happening. So something is happening. Straight out to Dave Mack, crime stories investigative reporter. Tonight, questions swirling about what Melissa Gilbert knew and when. So what. What is that? Insta. What? When did that come out? That's the response.
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Dave Mack
Well, Nancy, actually the idea of Melissa Gilbert knowing about Timothy Busfield and what he was doing, it goes much deeper and much further back. You realize that the two boys accusing him of doing this on the set, the Busfield Gilbert couple, they actually took the family in. They socialized with them away from the set, away from business functions. And it got to the point where Melissa Gilbert bought Christmas gifts for these boys. It was a way of ingratiating themselves, maybe. I mean, this was one of those things, Nancy, that looking back on it, it's a red flag.
- [03:47]
Nancy Grace
Well, here's my concern. I know that Melissa Gilbert knew about the claims at the time because she was on a conference call where it was all discussed. And the explanation was, it's the parents. They're making it up. They're out for revenge. I mean, to Rob Sheeter joining me, he is the PR guru to the stars. He's seen them all and worked with them all. I'm talking about Britney Spears. I'm talking about Sean Puffy Combs. Oh, excuse me, Diddy. And there's the list is endless. Rob Shooter is the star of Naughty but Nice podcast. He's author of a brand new book which is climbing the charts on Amazon called It Started with a Whisper. And you can find him at robshooter.substack.com. okay, enough about you, Shooter. Can we get down to it? What else can she do? I mean, her entire image is based on wholesomeness. Look, I had a total Little House on the Prairie addiction, Shooter. As my cases got more and more evil, more and more dark, more and more disturbing, that I prosecuted. In the morning, I would watch Little House on the Prairie for an hour to calm down before I could go to work. I know. I feel like I know this woman. I like this woman. But I can't turn away from what I'm seeing. What else can they do besides say it's revenge?
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Rob Shooter
Right, Right. That feeling that you're having, Nancy, I think that they are exploiting that too. There are many, many people around the world who loved Little House on the Prairie. It's still beautiful. It holds up today. I saw a few episodes a few nights ago. It's interesting that it has not been pulled from TVs.
- [05:36]
Nancy Grace
Just stop right there. Shooter. Shooter, please, please. In my line of business, I have to seize upon every inaccuracy and then shred the person that said it. Okay. Did you, Rob Shooter, in the heart of Manhattan, tell me that you're watching Little House on the Prairie at night?
- [05:57]
Rob Shooter
I am. I love it. I'm an old fashioned type of guy. Manhattan is not this crazy, wild town. Nancy, there are people here in Manhattan that are really quite sentimental. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I love that show. I love classic Turner movies. And so, yeah, I was watching it and I think that they are. They're preying on people like us who will remember her for who she was, not who she is today. And these videos sitting in the kitchen. There she is with her friends. That could be a scene out of Little House on the Prairie. I think they're really leaning into this nostalgia to make us feel like nothing's going on, that everything is just fine, and to remind us that she's a really good person. It won't work. It is a huge mistake. They should not be doing this. But I understand why they think this is a good idea.
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Nancy Grace
Josh Coles, Rude. I have sat in court so many times at council table and watched women wailing, crying, clearly distraught on the other side of the courtroom hearing the evidence pour from the witness stand about their husband, their boyfriend, their love object. They don't believe it. They don't want to believe it. But we have to look at whether Melissa Gilbert. This is like dirt in my mouth. Whether Melissa Gilbert knew and unintentionally aided and abetted the grooming process. Now Josh Colesrud is joining us, guys. He is a veteran criminal defense attorney. He's won a lot of cases. He's a former prosecutor, U.S. attorney. He is the founder of the Colesrud Law Offices. Josh, I want you to listen to this. This is what investigators state was happening at the time. And Melissa Gilbert, God help her, is right in the middle of it. Listen.
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Narrator/Reporter
Investigators interview Busfield on speaker wife actress Melissa Gilbert present for the interview. Busfield denies any wrongdoing, but admits tickling the boys would not have been out of the ordinary for him as he likes to have a fun set. Busfield claims the lead actress in the series, Elodie Young, tells him the mother of SL&VL wants revenge on Busfield because the boys were not brought back for filming the fourth and final season of the show, suggesting the reason for the complaint is work related, not that he did anything wrong with the boys.
- [08:23]
Nancy Grace
Tickling makes a fun set for who? Okay, Josh Colesrude, I know that you've seen and vice versa, but typically it's the women being dragged along as the man is being prosecuted for something. She doesn't believe it. She doesn't want to believe it. And she's right there in the conference call. There is a conference call where everything is laid out in full and she's there. Investigators interview bus filled by phone and his wife, actress Melissa Gilbert, is present for the interview.
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Josh Colesrude
Well, there's two ways to look at this. Number one, you know, if her husband is innocent, know this is exactly how you would expect a wife to react. You know, she's been with her husband for a very long time. She has stated publicly that he's the most moral person that she knows and that she personally has not observed anything that she feels like was suspicious. Now, this type of behavior, as you said, isn't abnormal in cases like this. And I look towards the Jerry Sandusky case. If you remember, he was the assistant head coach at Penn State. And in that case, Jerry Sandusky's wife had a very similar demeanor where, you know, Sandusky was in the basement doing his thing for over 30 years. And she claims.
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Nancy Grace
Wait, wait, wait. Objection. Doing his thing. Look around you. Nothing is airbrushed. Nothing is edited. We want the unvarnished truth. What was Jerry Sandusky doing in the basement? Josh Colesrute.
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Josh Colesrude
He was convicted of child molestation. Many, many counts of that. And the location where many of those instances took place was in the basement. And my point is that many people couldn't fathom why Mrs. Sandusky would have no knowledge and still to this day stands behind her husband and says he didn't do anything wrong. The answer is simple. So, and this is well documented in cases like this, where a spouse, usually a woman, you would. It is a blow against her ego to realize and know that her husband is a monster because it makes her complicit. It means that she was.
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Nancy Grace
Okay, hold on, hold on. Josh Colesrude. I'm not saying that you're wrong, but I think the two of us, with all of our law degrees and our graduate degrees and our trial experience, I really think we need to shrink, luckily. Joining us tonight is Karen Stark. Karen is a renowned TV and radio trauma expert. She is a consultant. She is a forensic psychologist. And you can find her@karen stark.com. karen with a C. Karen, boil it down for me, because according to Rob Sheeter, it's a lot more. There's a lot more at stake here. There is a reason she's got her head in the sand and her rear in the air. She doesn't want to know. She doesn't want to hear it. She doesn't believe it.
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Rob Shooter
She.
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Nancy Grace
She can't soak it in. And there's a reason for that. What's the reason, Karen?
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Karen Stark
Well, the reason is her public image, everything that we were seeing about her. She's supposed to be a child advocate, safety advocate. She preaches that there shouldn't be sexual abuse and to find abusers. And yet she's living. It's cognitive dissonance with somebody who is being accused of the very thing that her image is advocating for that she needs to present herself as. Don't Forget Nancy and everybody who's listening, that she's somebody. She's the Little House on the Prairie. She's this perfect woman. She does all the right things and she's laughing. And behind it all, she's living with somebody who has the worst accusations because we're talking about damage to children. And so she's got to balance this, the fact that there are these allegations, it's more than one incident and her public image, which is really important.
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Nancy Grace
Crime stories with nancy grace. Dave Mack Crime Stories Investigative Reporter what did she know? And when these allegations came up years and years ago, nothing was done, although there was a full fledged studio investigation. Isn't that true? She had to know. And now they have reared their ugly head again and she is posting videos of her refrigerator.
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Karen Stark
What?
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Nancy Grace
Tell me about the studio investigation that apparently exonerated Busfield many years ago.
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Dave Mack
Nancy the studio investigation was actually paid for by Warner Brothers, the producers of the show that Busfield was working on at the time of these accusations. So yeah, there was a third party investigation. But Nancy, saying he was exonerated by this investigation would require us to actually analyze what type of investigation was done. And when you get down to the nitty gritty of this, you're investigating yourself for alleged abuse kind of thing, there's no way they're going to come up with anything other than exoneration or they're talking lawsuits. So when you get into that investigation, it was not done by the police. It wasn't done by anybody other than who Warner Brothers hired to investigate the alleged. And they said they being the investigator, said they could not corroborate the allegations.
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Nancy Grace
Well, you're right. Dave Mack. Listen.
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Narrator/Reporter
The initial investigation into Buzzfield on the set of TV show the Cleaning lady begins with a complaint made through SAG aftra, an internal investigation commissioned by Warner Brothers. A third party hired to investigate concluded there was no corroborating evidence Buzzfield engaged in inappropriate conduct or was ever alone with child actors. But Busfield claims the studio investigation cleared him.
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Nancy Grace
That is very different. The studio investigation, when their rear end is on the line, their ass in a sling. Legal term, very different outcome than what the LAPD investigators say. Listen to what they say.
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Narrator/Reporter
Investigator conclusion. Pedophiles infiltrate families under a trusted role like Timothy, who as a producer exploited the hectic film sets to tickle and touch SL on his penis and buttocks, masking it as play. He would invite the family to offset gatherings with his wife, buying Christmas gifts to foster closeness, making SL feel special and dependent. Classic grooming to erode boundaries, isolate the victim, and silence suspicions by blending abuse into normalcy. The dual tactic, charming parents while secretly violating the child, builds a web of complicity that is hard to unravel, delaying detection as families trust the abuser's facade.
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Nancy Grace
Which is true. Felony charges have now been brought against the Little House on the Prairie star husband, Timothy Busfield. They say it's all revenge, that the alleged victim's parents are angry the children were not brought back for another season. So what is the truth? What, if anything, can we make a Melissa Gilbert, the Little House Star? Recent Postings what is her response?
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Melissa Gilbert
Look hey there friends. It's me, your friendly neighborhood half pint, AKA Melissa Gilbert, AKA the artist formerly known as Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie, co founder of Modern Prairie, All Things Prairie Prairie, Prairie Prairie Hey, I am so excited. This coming Friday we are hosting an event called Ask Melissa Anything. Literally, ask me. Well, I mean, within reason, almost anything we can talk about. Prairie stuff, Modern Prairie stuff, Little House on the Prairie stuff. I've got tea to spill and I am ready to do it. So go on over to our events page and either on the app or our website and sign up. And I'm so looking forward to seeing all of you on Friday evening. It is this coming Friday and you can ask me anything. Grab yourself a drink, cozy up and come hang out. It's gonna be a lot of fun. It always is.
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Nancy Grace
So what is she doing there? Rob Shuter she's saying formerly this, Prairie, that Prairie, Modern Prairie, Little House on the Prairie. Prairie, Prairie, Prairie. That's exactly what you just said.
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Rob Shooter
I'm very smart. Nancy she is leaning in. She is leaning in to what has made her rich, what has made her famous, and something from the past which still makes her relevant today. This show is still a big deal. It was from many, many years ago, decades ago. But it has held up. And not only has it kept her in the spotlight, it's made her a lot of money. This is her identity. And it feels to me as if she now is more concerned with her public image, with the way that she's perceived, than getting to the bottom of this and figuring out the truth. If the truth is on her side and she's okay here, all this will go away and she will bounce back and her career will bounce back. However, if it's not, it doesn't matter how much spin she does over the next couple of months, she's in a lot of trouble.
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Nancy Grace
Josh Colesrude she is mentioning Ask Melissa Anything Session. If I were the defense attorney in that case, it would be over my cold, dead body that she would answer questions that even touched on the molestation case.
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Josh Colesrude
Well, let me tell you, she is aware of the facts of the case coming from the defense. Specifically, that the parents in the case are fraudsters. That the mother in the case threatened her husband, saying that she was going to get him after he decided not to renew the children's con contracts. You know, and don't forget that the husband, he is a former lawyer. He was convicted, disbarred. He's a man that used his law license to steal. And it wouldn't be surprising if these two fraudsters coached their children to make false accusations against this woman's husband in order to gain fame and money. Now, she is aware of these facts when she gives these statements. And of course, she has her husband's back. You know, there's no corroborating evidence. There's no DNA. There's no fingerprints. All you have are the statements from these two children who. And there are inconsistent statements. Not only that, but the two children also denied that anything happened when they were first interviewed by police officers. And she knows that, too.
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Nancy Grace
Josh. Josh, my question to you was a good defense attorney would not allow her an open forum to ask Melissa anything at this juncture. Now, you mentioned that the boys denied everything when they were questioned formally, and you're absolutely correct. And I'm about to play that right now in Busfield's defense and in Melissa Gilbert's defense. Let's hear it.
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Dave Mack
You know what's right and wrong, right?
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Melissa Gilbert
Yeah.
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Dave Mack
You know, no one could touch your private areas.
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Karen Stark
Yeah. But.
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Melissa Gilbert
But it doesn't touch them.
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Dave Mack
Doesn't touch your private parts.
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Josh Colesrude
Okay.
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Narrator/Reporter
Okay.
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Dave Mack
And you know what's right and wrong?
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Narrator/Reporter
Right.
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Dave Mack
You know, we're.
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Nancy Grace
People can't touch where people can't do.
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Narrator/Reporter
Yeah.
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Dave Mack
You know that, right? Does Tim ever do that?
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Nancy Grace
No, he's never touched me. Never touched you?
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Rob Shooter
Yeah.
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Dave Mack
In the. In, like, you know, your private areas. Right. Never did that.
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Nancy Grace
Never. Okay. That is very powerful for the defense. Crime stories with nancy grace. We are not saying anyone is guilty or not guilty. We are looking at the claims. And by the way, at this hour, more claims against Busfield are coming out. Claims from people that at the time said they were afraid to come forward, that their careers would be ruined, and more so, who's to be believed? Are they all lying and Busfield and Gilbert are the only ones telling the truth? Is that possible? At this hour, Melissa Gilbert fights back by posting Foodie, instas and more.
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Melissa Gilbert
It's time for breakfast with a homemade English muffin, a cup of tea, and of course, our butter crock. I'm going to put some butter on my English muffin. Very excited about this. And some jelly. Just a tad. The hummingbirds are fighting.
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Nancy Grace
This is so great. I love this.
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Melissa Gilbert
Yum.
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Josh Colesrude
Yum.
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Nancy Grace
Rob Shooter. What is she doing?
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Melissa Gilbert
She.
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Rob Shooter
She's delusional. It's a really dumb idea. I can't quite explain this. I would imagine when something this horrific happens to a family member, you do want to retreat to your kitchen and you do want to cook. The difference is we don't put it on video. Why are you doing this? Why are you sending out these staged moments to try and convince us that everything is absolutely normal? It's not normal. It's really, really bad.
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Narrator/Reporter
And.
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Rob Shooter
And the fact that she's doing this alarms me because it tells me just how bad judgment she has. She should say nothing. She should certainly be with her friends. She should be in her kitchen. Just turn off the cameras. This is not the moment for a PR stunt. This is not the moment to increase your following on social media. This is a moment to get real. And I fear she's not doing that.
- [23:33]
Nancy Grace
I don't think this is going to be. One's an angel and one's a devil. You can be a sex predator but also not be guilty of predating on two victims. This case is riddled with problems. That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Karen Stark joining us. Trauma expert, forensic psychologist. What is denial?
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Karen Stark
It's actually the kind of thing that she is doing right now. She is doubling down and letting people know that nothing happened. She's great. She's the Little House on the Prairie, wonderful America's sweetheart. And yet all of this is going on around her. We know about it. It's in the social media, the news, and she is not even acknowledging it. She's acting as though nothing has happened. And that's a great example of denial where you are not paying attention to something that's happening. And it's so evident to people who are watching.
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Nancy Grace
You know, Josh Colesrut, I know you're going to disagree with me on this, but charges can be made given the right facts for aiding and abetting. And I never dreamed of a day when I was watching Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House, getting ready to go try a murder case, psyching myself up, that one day I would put the name Melissa Gilbert in the same sentence as aiding and abetting. Child molestation. And I can tell you this, if this ever does go to a jury, the state's going to have H E double L pinning that on her because it's like trying to convict Doris Day, for Pete's sake. It just. No. Everything screams no. But aiding and abetting takes under the law, takes into account the jury can look at behavior before, during and after the incident. If she aided and abetted him in grooming these boys, she's in a whole heap of trouble. Providing it's all true. Providing the state can overcome the boys denial. And the reason there should be concern amongst the defense camp tonight is more alleged victims of are coming out, including victims connected to Julia Roberts. You know, pretty woman, she's never had a scandal in her life. She's gold, right? She's pristine. So what I'm saying is it's not just the two boys that when they're little, they recant. I've had child molestation victims recant because mommy asked them to, because mommy's getting paid by the molester. It's happened. So it's not just those two little boys anymore. It's lots of girls, lots of young women, other people coming forward. So am I not supposed to believe all of them and only believe Melissa? So what would an aiding and abetting charge entail? Because she needs a lawyer tonight. Colesrud.
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Josh Colesrude
Well, you know, charges honestly could be barely brought against her husband and let alone an abetting charge against her. So aiding and abetting requires that a suspect be aware that a crime has been committed or is going to be committed or is currently being. And that they give the person aid or comfort. They assist them in committing the crime or after the fact as well. They help hide the crime or they give comfort to the person who committed the crime. But here, there is absolutely no evidence that this lady knew of anything. Not only that, but listen to me.
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Nancy Grace
It's not that you were aware of the crime. You should have been aware of the crime. That's like you and I get in the car and we drive over the Mexico border and I go, what? I thought that was confectionate sugar in all those bags in the trunk. It's cocaine. Are you serious? No, no and no. That's not the way the law works. Ignorance of the facts or the law is not going to be a defense. If she should have known molestation was happening, that's the standard. Not if she chose again to stick her head in the sand and her rear in the air.
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Josh Colesrude
But it's not just that. Nancy it's that she knew, should have known and provided aid and comfort that helped facilitate the crime. You know, it's. It's one thing to should have known, but that doesn't require her to do anything. It. Unless she is bringing children to her husband for the purpose of, you know, sexually assaulting them, there's eating and bedding just isn't going to happen. Not only that, but in this case, the touching allegedly occurred on set. You know, where was she during this time? Was she bringing the children there? No, it was her parent. It was a kid's parents. We're telling the children to hug everybody on the set. You know, the parents who are fraudsters, telling their. Their little kids to go hug all of the adults, especially Tim. This is the suspect in this case. And I'll tell you what is suspect. The entire case is suspect. Which is the entire reason why the judge released Tim bans or Busfield. He said that the. Tim Busfield was not a danger the community and he was not a substantial flight risk as well. That is saying put him up.
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Nancy Grace
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Did I not say at the beginning, I don't have a dog in the fight here? I don't know what the truth is. I'm trying to find out the truth and right now I'm trying to find out what, if anything, did Melissa Gilbert know and when did she know it again? I heard the recantation. I heard what the boy said. It's damning for the state yet. I also know, Colesrew, that other alleged victims are coming forward. And there's a whole nother issue is if all of these allegations are false, why isn't Busville counter suing for defamation? Somebody jumped up and said, I ate it and abetted or I molested someone. Oh, yeah, they're going to land in court by my own hand and I will sue their britches off. What?
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Josh Colesrude
There's no correlation from what the other alleged victims are saying and this case. The other alleged victims are adults. They're female.
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Rob Shooter
The.
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Josh Colesrude
There's no modus operandi that is similar between those two.
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Nancy Grace
So because they're female, it didn't happen. They're not saying it happened today or yesterday. They're saying it happened in years past. We have heard a lot about what is wrong with the two little boys now grown and their testimony, their claims of being abuse victims. But what about other alleged. There was one interview with a makeup artist who said that everybody kind of watched out for Timothy Busfield because he had poor boundaries and she used the Word creep. In the last hours, more claims against Melissa Gilbert's husband Timothy Busfield, who is a star in his own right, have emerged. And this time they're the gold standard because they're connected to Hollywood royalty. And that is Julia Roberts. All right, listen.
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Narrator/Reporter
Julia Roberts sister in law says Busfield is a creep who sex harassed and humiliated her, saying Buzzfield is like a rapist who compulsively and indiscriminately targets women. Eliza Roberts accusing Buzzfield, 1994. Eliza Roberts sees an article about a teen girl who worked with Buzzfield on a movie accusing Buzzfield of lewd and harassing behavior. Roberts says she was stunned to hear it because the same thing happened to me with him. The 17 year old girl on the set of Little Big League says Busfield invited her to his trailer, gave her alcohol and propositioned her. Roberts expresses regret she did not take action at the time, fearing negative publicity. Roberts says these things mushroom and get very big. She did not want to be taken away from her children, husband or her own career. Assuming her encounter with Buzzfield was isolated, Eliza chooses not to say anything. But after reading about a 17 year old being done the same way, she comes forward indignant. Other women making claims against Busfield were being called liars.
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Nancy Grace
Crime stories Investigative reporter Dave Mack. What happened? We're talking about Eliza Roberts now coming out with her own story regarding Timothy Busfield. What happened?
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Dave Mack
Nancy? This actually is so explosive when we go back to the 17 year old girl on the set of Little Big League who made the accusations back then, Buzzfield and all of his mouthpieces came out calling her a liar and anybody who was on her side a liar. That's when this is the part that really breaks my heart. Eliza Roberts actually reads in the paper these girls being called liars after she had experienced Buzzfield five years earlier. And she in that she said that she ran didn't even know him. She's an actress and a casting person, but she didn't really know him and runs into him at a bookstore and Busfield chats her up. But he starts off kind of being a fatherly guy talking about marriage and things like that. But he moves this conversation into film. This is in public at a bookstore. Robert says that he just wanted to get the heck away from him. He says vulgar things that he wants to do with her, that he'd be great with her in bed. She gets out in the car, she's just trying to leave, right? Buzzfeed, as she's backing up, she looks out the window and There's Buzzfield. He starts again.
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Nancy Grace
Okay, hold on, Dave Mack I'm gonna spare you. Listen.
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Narrator/Reporter
In the parking lot, Eliza Roberts prepares to back out of the parking space, turns around and is shocked to see Busfield is standing at her car window. Buzzfield begins speaking to Roberts being very graphic, vulgar. I would really love to know how you taste. I would like to lick your blank. Roberts is very upset. Buzzfield continues talking about specific sexual acts and how they would be great together. Roberts finds it difficult to get away.
- [34:25]
Nancy Grace
Okay, you know what? When I put a witness on the stand, I know they're going to get cross examined. I have to measure their credibility, their veracity, their truthfulness before I put them up there. And I don't care what they are. I don't care if they're walking the street. I don't care if they have a criminal record. I don't care if they're a nun, a priest or a virgin. I have to weigh their credibility. And one thing I look for is richness in detail. Dave Mack Does Eliza Roberts, Julia Roberts sister in law, state that she encounters Buzzfield in a bookstore, a children's bookstore as I recall. He approaches her and begins a normal conversation that it quickly veers off into highly inappropriate. She leaves. She's backing out of her parking spot, turns around and there he is at her car window and says graphic, vulgar comments like I would really love to know how you taste. I would like to lick your blank. She gets upset and she takes off and she never forgot it. Is that her statement? DAVE MACK?
- [35:39]
Dave Mack
Yes. And it even goes a tad further. Nancy. When she pulls out of the parking lot, Busfield follows her. NANCY she drives several blocks away to a car wash and he's still right there with her and continuing to say filthy, vulgar things to her. She could not shake this guy.
- [36:00]
Nancy Grace
Okay, it's not just that. And again, she would have to take the stand and be subjected to cross examination. I don't know what's going to happen. Will this story fall apart? Don't know. And there's the issue. Why is she coming forward now? She says, and others say as well, they didn't want to blow up their career at the time. But it's not just her. There is a Minnesota case.
- [36:23]
Narrator/Reporter
Listen, the Minnesota case and the sworn statements filed as part of it are not the only allegations to have resurfaced in recent weeks. In addition, it has emerged that a 16 year old girl in Sacramento accused Busfield of groping her in 2001 at a theater in the city. He co founded in that instance, the accuser says Busfield kissed her, put his hands down her pants and touched her privates. The incident was not reported to police. After Busfield begged and pleaded with the family, the girl's father, a therapist, agrees to not file charges if Busfield receives therapy.
- [36:58]
Nancy Grace
Josh Colesrude, take off your defense hat just for a moment. I know that the case in chief regarding the two boys can be attacked. I pledge played their recantation. Recantations are not unusual in cases of child molestation, but yet there it is. And it was powerful enough for the trial judge to allow Busfield to walk r o r released on his own recognizance, no bond necessary. A jury may feel the same way. But now there are more and more people, alleged victims coming out. What do you make of it? So just be honest. Don't argue with me. I'm trying to get to the truth.
- [37:40]
Josh Colesrude
So the judges are going to look at similarities. They need to look at what the new allegations are against the women and how similar they are to the allegations at hand. If they are not, if they're not against the same age group, if they weren't similar in how they were conducted and if they weren't similar in remoteness and time, they're not coming in as evidence and the jury will never hear them.
- [38:07]
Nancy Grace
Dave Mack joining me. Dave Mack, isn't it true that the hospital employees that interviewed the two little boys at the time they did a child abuse response team interview, what were their findings at the time? Regardless of their recantation, they believed that.
- [38:24]
Dave Mack
Both boys had been groomed and assaulted.
- [38:28]
Nancy Grace
You're telling me hospital employees stated that they interviewed the boys and thought the boys had been assaulted?
- [38:35]
Dave Mack
Yes. They felt like they had been groomed and sexually assaulted. Yes.
- [38:41]
Nancy Grace
Well, at this hour we know that following Busfield's release on ROR release on own recognizance, he lived it up. And a very, very expensive Airbnb.
- [38:55]
Narrator/Reporter
Busfield trades the orange jumpsuit and all in one metal toilet sink of county for pampered swanky Italian style mansion Airbnb costing $2,483. The private hot tub a bit nicer than watching your back in the jailhouse shower. The house has a spectacular stained glass dome and comfy beds with high quality linens. No cold coffee and stale toast at this incredible hideaway in the abq.
- [39:22]
Nancy Grace
Guys, what is the truth? Who's telling the truth? More victims coming forward. More alleged victims. We've got a recantation of the boy victims. What, if anything, did Melissa Gilbert know and when we wait as justice unfolds. And now we remember an American hero. Co Helen Smith North Carolina Department Public Safety Killed in the line of duty after three years service, leaving behind a husband turned widow and two children without a mother. American Hero co Helen Smith Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.