This is one of those cases where it really is true that we just have to stand standby and withhold judgment until reliable facts are presented under oath in court subject to cross examination. I hope the public will inhibit the impulse to either conclude “we must believe the children“ or “Timothy Busfield would never do something like that.” Neither of those imperatives is true we don’t always have to believe the children. In fact anyone has ever lived with children knows that you you often have to not believe children, but we also know that people who have a public persona of being good and trustworthy and admirable people sometimes privately do really bad and harmful things.
We also know that parents can and at times do intentionally or unintentionally create false interpretations, and memories of physical and sexual abuse in children. Of course, I have no way of knowing if that’s likely to be true here - it appears Busfield’s defense in part includes a suggestion that it is. We will have to wait and see.
I’m impressed that the judge in this case refused to give much credence to 2 claims of abuse, one against a grown woman and anotheragainst a Teenager, both because those claims had not been So we planned a dish ahead of tested formally, and because they did not relate to sexual abuse of a child, which is something categorically different. It is certainly possible that a man could sexually abuse an adult woman, and a teenage girl and a young child, but I don’t think we have any evidence that a man who has molested grown woman or a teenage girl is more likely to have also molested a young child. These are different kinds of things.
I like Busfield and I hope he didn’t do these things. If he did, I hope he’s convicted and punished severely.