‘Law & Order: SVU’ Recasts Role After Actor’s Arrest

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has recast a part played by Timothy Busfield in a recently pulled episode of the NBC drama.

Dexter actor David Zayas will replace The West Wing alum in the judge role for the episode titled “Corrosive,” which was pulled from the schedule last month as the actor faces accusations of sexual abuse involving a minor, Deadline reported Tuesday.

The episode, originally scheduled to air on Jan. 15, has been shot and will now air on Feb. 26 on NBC.

News broke on Jan. 9 that an arrest warrant for Busfield had been issued by the Albuquerque Police Department, who is now facing two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse.

Busfield, who is married to Little House on the Prairie actress Melissa Gilbert, is accused of having engaged in unlawful sexual conduct with twin 11-year-old boys who were child actors on the set of FOX’s The Cleaning Lady, on which Busfield was a director, according to the arrest warrant obtained at the time by PEOPLE.

Three months after the show ended in June 2025 after four seasons, the twins’ mother told authorities that her son had told a counselor that Busfield had inappropriately touched him.

Busfield accused the boys’ parents of being upset that their sons had been replaced by a younger actor while talking to police, claiming that it was not long after the replacement that he got a call from Warner Bros. informing him they were investigating a complaint.

Asked if he had ever picked up or tickled the boys, Busfield allegedly told investigators that it was “highly likely that he would have” because he wanted “a playful environment” on set.

“There would never be a weird moment about it. I don’t really remember picking those boys up,” he is quoted as saying. “I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I’d pick him up, and he’d be giggling, and that would sort of get him ready to act.”

Busfield also faced other allegations of sexual assault in 1994, as per the warrant.

Following news of Busfield’s warrant, The Cleaning Lady producers Warner Bros. TV issued a statement: “The health and safety of our cast and crew is always our top priority, especially the safety of minors on our productions. We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and have systems in place to promptly and thoroughly investigate, and when needed, take appropriate action. We are aware of the current charges against Mr. Busfield and have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement.”

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.