NEED TO KNOW
- Timothy Busfield has been recast in a forthcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- After a Jan. 15 episode of SVU guest starring Busfield was pulled from the air, scenes were refilmed and it will now air on Feb. 26, featuring Dexter star David Zayas
- Busfield faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse
Timothy Busfield’s previously shelved episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has a new air date and a new guest star.
The actor, who was charged with child sex abuse crimes last month, will no longer be guest-starring in the SVU episode “Corrosive,” which was previously set to air on Jan. 15 before being pulled from NBC’s schedule.
The episode will now air on Feb. 26 and feature Dexter star David Zayas in Busfield’s previous role as a judge.
PEOPLE confirmed on Wednesday, Feb. 4, that Zayas will be playing the judge and that Busfield’s scenes had been re-shot. Give Me My Remote first reported on the casting and scheduling change.
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The episode’s logline reads as follows, per The Hollywood Reporter: “An attempt on a respected judge’s life is connected to an anonymous video posted to the SVU tip line. Rollins (Kelli Giddish) tries to help a victim come to terms with their abuse.”
On Jan. 12, PEOPLE learned the episode featuring Busfield, 68, and originally slated to air on Jan. 15 had been pulled and replaced with the following week’s episode.
The decision came as Busfield faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.
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Busfield, known for his role as Danny Concannon on The West Wing, turned himself in to authorities on Jan. 13, days after the Albuquerque Police Department issued an arrest warrant on Jan. 9, alleging he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys, whose identities were withheld from the public, with one of the children alleging that the incidents began when he was 7 years old. The parents claimed the minors were child actors who met Busfield on the set of the FOX series The Cleaning Lady, where Busfield served as a director, per the warrant.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman then announced that he filed official charges against Busfield.
On Jan. 20, Busfield was released from custody in New Mexico as he awaits trial on the charges.
“They’re all lies and I did not do anything to those little boys and I’m gonna fight it,” Busfield said in a video obtained by TMZ after he turned himself in. “I’m gonna fight it with a great team, and I’m gonna be exonerated, I know I am, because this is all so wrong and all lies,” he said at the time.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.