Why prosecutors allege that actor Timothy Busfield groomed a community to cover up child sexual abuse
Northeastern experts say having a good guy persona is not incongruous with being a predator.
After Timothy Busfield was arrested earlier this year on charges of sexual contact with a child, more than 70 people — including fellow actors — wrote letters in support of the actor known for his role on “The West Wing.”
Peter Horton, Busfield’s co-star in the late 1980s Emmy award-winning dramedy “Thirtysomething,” called him a “good man.”
In her own letter to the judge presiding over the case, Busfield’s wife, Melissa Gilbert of “Little House on the Prairie” fame, called her husband her “rock” and “protector.”
But the letters don’t align with interviews published by USA Today with several women who told stories of being groped and sexually assaulted by Busfield when they were in their teens and twenties.
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The contentious case is raising questions about the phenomenon of community grooming.
While the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) describes grooming as “the deliberate act of building trust with a child, teen or at-risk adult (such as an adult with a cognitive impairment) for the purpose of exploiting them sexually,” community grooming is a relatively new term for an age-old tactic.
It describes how perpetrators attempt to win over the intended victim’s family, friends and community, knowing “that building a good reputation is the most effective way to avoid detection,” RAINN says.
The reality is that having a good guy persona is not incongruous with being a predator, said Northeastern University experts on sexual and domestic violence.
Being a trusted member of a church, school, theatrical group or sports club can be a shield for those who want to avoid the shadow of suspicion — and to increase their exposure to potential victims, according to Northeastern professors Carlos Cuevas and Hayat Bearat, who said they are speaking in general and not about Busfield’s case.
Cuevas, a psychologist and professor of criminology and criminal justice, said in his work with offenders, “one of the things they would talk about is this idea of grooming those around you” to think of them as a nice person and upstanding member of the community.
“That will help hide any nefarious behavior that they’re engaged in,” he said. They would think, “‘How do I make it so I don’t get found out?’”
In Busfield’s case, an arrest warrant affidavit concluded that the director, who has denied the charges, used a dual tactic of “charming parents while secretly violating the child,” using his authority on a hectic TV set to his advantage.
It’s also not unusual for predators with a degree of fame, including those locally famous in religious or other communities, to get away with sexual abuse for quite some time, Bearat said. In Busfield’s case, the alleged incidents date back to 1994, with other allegations in the interim years.
It’s hard for victims to come forward when the perpetrator is a beloved community leader, said Bearat, associate clinical professor of law and director of Northeastern’s Domestic Violence Institute. “The community [feels] there’s no way that this person could ever do something like that.”
She said people around them don’t realize that abusers are using their good reputation intentionally to connect with victims and hide the harm that they do. Victims feel that “nobody’s going to be on my side,” Bearat said.
“I don’t know if people appreciate the Herculean effort” it takes for victims of sexual assault to come forward, said Cuevas, who counsels clients in his work as a clinical psychologist.
Victims often feel blamed for disclosing the abuse, especially when it results in family disruption and arrest, but the blame is misplaced, he said. “The problem is the perpetrator’s behavior.”
The most important thing parents can do to protect their children is to have a good enough relationship so the first time a child feels uncomfortable with an individual—whether it is a family member, trusted friend or community leader–they tell their parents, Cuevas said.
Children need to know “you are somebody who will listen and believe them and do what’s appropriate to protect them,” he said. “It’s the biggest prevention message I can give because sexual abuse thrives in secrecy.”
