Timothy Busfield will be released from jail as he awaits trial on child sex abuse charges.

A judge in New Mexico ruled at a hearing on Tuesday (20.01.26) that The West Wing actor can be released in the lead-up to his trial, citing his lack of criminal history, compliance with the court order for his arrest and the evidence in the case so far.

Busfield, 68, turned himself into the authorities last week and was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and one count of child abuse during production of The Cleaning Lady - a TV series that he directed.

Judge David Murphy ruled: "As it stands today, based on the limited information I have in front of me, I'll characterise the weight of the evidence against the defendant as neutral at this point in time."

Regarding the amount of evidence in the case, the judge claimed that the defence's presentation, statements from several people who worked on the set of The Cleaning Lady, an independent investigation carried out by a law firm hired by the show's producers Warner Bros., and testimony from the hearing "do not corroborate the allegations offered by the alleged victims in this case".

Busfield - whose wife Melissa Gilbert appeared visibly emotional when the judge ruled that he could be released - must not have any contact with the alleged victims or their families or any unsupervised contact with minors.

The Field of Dreams star's defence team had submitted more than 70 letters from people vouching for Busfield's character and said that he underwent and passed a polygraph test regarding the allegations against him.

He also had a psychosexual risk assessment, although the prosecution took issue with this and argued that limited weight should be given to the polygraph.

Deputy District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch said: "It doesn't matter who he's attracted to. We know that all different types of sex offenders prey on different demographics of people.

"They don't have to be a paedophile for this to happen."

Busfield's lawyer Amber Fayerberg rebutted the notion that the Thirtysomething actor was "exploiting his power" as he no longer has any following the allegations.

She said: "He has no power. He is persona non grata, and that't not because he did anything wrong... that's because of the world we live in."

Fayerberg described how the star had been "cancelled" by the state, dropped by his talent agency and had his role edited out of the upcoming movie You Deserve Each Other.

The defence lawyer also argued that there was overwhelming evidence that the allegations against Busfield were "manufactured".

She said: "There is a credible story here, and it's a very sad story, and there are victims, and they are still these two boys.

"But they weren't victimised by Tim Busfield. They were victimised by their own parents."

The judge has not restricted Busfield's travel as he is not a resident of New Mexico.

A trial date is yet to be set.