Melissa Gilbert, who is married to actor Timothy Busfield, spoke out for the first time since Busfield was charged with child sexual abuse, saying that she trusts her husband with the lives of her own kids.
In an interview on "Good Morning America" on Monday, Gilbert said that she had no moments of doubt in Busfield, who is facing accusations of touching children inappropriately.
"I know this man in my bones. No one knows him better than I do. I know literally everything about him," said Gilbert, a star of the "Little House on the Prairie" TV series and former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
"Our marriage has, you know, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through struggles," she said. "We’ve had our own issues to deal with, and we’ve worked through everything."
Gilbert continued: "He is nothing if not completely honest with me. I trust him with my children’s lives, with my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews. He is an honorable, caring, generous human being."
Busfield was indicted by a grand jury in New Mexico on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child in February, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office said in a press release at the time.
Busfield’s lawyer, Larry Stein, said the indictment was “not unexpected.”
“As the saying goes, a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” Stein said in a statement in February. “What is deeply concerning is that the District Attorney is choosing to proceed on a case that is fundamentally unsound and cannot be proven at trial.”
The indictment came about a month after Busfield turned himself in on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor. The accusations were made by two children with whom Busfield had worked while he was a director on the Fox series "The Cleaning Lady."
The children reported that Busfield allegedly touched them inappropriately on the set of the “The Cleaning Lady,” according to Busfield’s arrest warrant.
In the Monday "GMA" interview, Stein, who appeared alongside Gilbert, said the boys at the center of the accusations initially said that Busfield did not touch them, and blamed the boys' parents for putting ideas into their heads.
"In this case," Stein said on "GMA," the boys are "victims of the parents, not victims of Tim."
Stein also denied reports that Busfield gave the boys gifts. Instead, Stein said Gilbert gave the boys the gifts at a Christmas party, and gave gifts to all the other children who attended the party.
In response to Gilbert's interview, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman told NBC News in a statement that his office "handles hundreds of child abuse cases every year. When a child reports abuse, we take it very seriously."
"In this matter, a neutral grand jury indicted the defendant on four Counts of Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor (Child Under 13)," Bregman said. "This office follows our ethical duty to only proceed on cases where a good faith basis exists to prosecute."
"While it is not surprising that the defendant is attempting to garner public support through the media, our focus remains on the victims," Bregman said. "We will continue to fight for them every step of the way."
Busfield, who had roles on the TV series “The West Wing” and “Thirtysomething,” has denied the claims and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released from custody in January and the trial is expected to begin next May.
