Melissa Gilbert is asking a judge to keep her husband, Timothy Busfield, safe as "The Cleaning Lady" director remains in New Mexico facing charges of child sex abuse.
Busfield, 68, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse on Jan. 9. The charges come after New Mexico authorities issued an arrest warrant and both state police and U.S. Marshals searched for him, according to a criminal complaint viewed by USA TODAY.
Among the over 70 letters of support for Busfield was one from the "Little House on the Prairie" actor, who explained how much her husband means to her.
"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," Gilbert wrote to a judge of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
Gilbert recounted meeting her husband in the 1980s and crossing paths for decades until they fell in love in 2012. She said this was the "strangest letter I’ve ever had to write" as she tried to "tow a line between logic and all the feelings swirling through me."
