In court documents provided to Parade by Melissa Gilbert's representative, Busfield’s attorneys argue that pretrial detention is supposed to be the rare exception, not the default. They say the State has not met the high burden required to keep someone jailed before trial and that Busfield can be released under conditions.
A big chunk of the response is aimed at undermining the reliability of the allegations in the criminal complaint. Busfield’s attorneys argue the State’s motion relies heavily on witnesses they say have credibility issues and financial motives.
This is the through-line: the defense is asking the court to treat the State’s version as unreliable at the detention stage.
Risk Assessments and a Polygraph Are Central to the Defense Argument
The response doesn’t just argue “he denies it.” It tries to stack up what the defense calls objective indicators that Busfield is not a flight risk and does not pose an ongoing danger.
A Public Safety Assessment the defense says places him at the lowest risk level and recommends release. A psychosexual evaluation the defense characterizes as finding very low risk. An independent polygraph the defense says was conducted on Jan. 13 and showed “no deception indicated.”
If you’ve been following the earlier Parade coverage, this is the defense formalizing those talking points inside a court filing and packaging them as part of a pretrial release argument, not just a public statement.
That is a notable strategic choice by the defense: they are treating the studio investigation as a central pillar of why the detention request should fail.
Witness and Exhibit Lists Preview What the Judge Will Consider
Along with the response, Busfield’s team filed witness and exhibit lists for the detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.
Multiple individuals tied to the production and the defense’s version of events (including Chris Ford, Kristin Karr and Danielle Vigil).The polygraph examiner (Peter Pierangeli).The evaluator (Dr. Leandrea Romero-Lucero).Melissa Gilbert is also listed as a potential witness.
The exhibit list includes:
The two studio-commissioned reports the defense calls the “Solomon” reports.A voicemail from Danielle Vigil.The Public Safety Assessment, polygraph materials and psychosexual assessment.“Letters of support.”Documents the defense appears to be using to impeach credibility, including records they label as judgments, sentencing documents and civil filings.What the Defense Is Really Asking the Court to Decide
And it’s a preview of the defense strategy: attack reliability, argue the State is overreaching at the detention stage, and flood the court with assessments, affidavits, and third-party reports that the defense says cut against the idea that no release conditions could work.
Next: Melissa Gilbert Breaks Silence on Timothy Busfield’s Arrest for Alleged Child Sex Abuse
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