Villain Edit: Timothy Busfield

The criminal trial of Timothy Busfield continues to move forward, with prosecutors unsealing a grand-jury indictment outlining the charges that the actor will be defending in court.

The charges detailed in the grand-jury indictment supersede the initial charges that were the basis of the warrant for Busfield's arrest.

Busfield will be tried on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child.

If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison.

Who is Timothy Busfield?

Busfield, aged 68, is an Emmy-winning actor. He's best known for roles in Thirtysomething, and The West Wing. Busfield is married to Melissa Gilbert.

How did we get here?

The criminal investigation began when police received a complaint from the parents of two boys - relating to incidents that allegedly occurred during the production of a television crime drama, The Cleaning Lady.

Busfield has denied the charges.

Busfield's lawyer has outlined a defence that these allegations have been made as a form of revenge by the mother of the boys - twin brothers, aged 11 at the time of the alleged offences. The boys were actors in the production and their contract was terminated by Busfield who is the director and executive producer of The Cleaning Lady. It is alleged that Busfield groomed and sexually abused the boys during production of the series.

In an affidavit supporting his arrest warrant, it's claimed that the boys referred to Busfield as "Uncle Tim" and alleged that he "would tickle them on the stomach and legs". Both boys told authorities they were touched inappropriately for years, the arrest affidavit states. One of the boys alleged that Busfield touched his private areas, according to court documents. The boy told authorities that the alleged inappropriate touching started when he was 7 years old and he was scared to speak out because he "feared" that Busfield would "get mad at him".

When will the trial of Timothy Busfield begin?

Busfield has been released from custody awaiting trial.

A trial date does not yet appear to have been set by the court.