Veteran actress accuses Timothy Busfield of sexually assaulting her

Claudia Christian, who began her acting career in the mid-1980s, is the latest woman to accuse the disgraced actor/director Timothy Busfield of sexual assault, and says it occurred on the set of a made-for-cable TV movie in the early 1990s:

Actress Claudia Christian, who worked with Busfield on the 1991 film "Strays" when she was 26 years old, claimed he allegedly grabbed her, threw her against a wall, and started kissing her while they were rehearsing lines in his trailer. She alleged to the police in a interview obtained by the Mirror US, "He had an erection and he shoved his tongue in my mouth and I pushed him off and I ran out of the trailer."

Christian told the Mirror US she felt angry at herself when she heard the news of Busfield's search warrant for not coming forward sooner. However, she then came to the conclusion that little would have been done if she'd spoken up.

"They 'might' have spoken to him but I doubt it. I very much doubt they would have started an investigation based on my report. I DID tell the people I was working on the film with and they did nothing, which is a reflection of how 'normal' it was for young women to be hurled up against a wall and fondled without warning nor permission," she said.

Plus, she claimed, in the 1990's, in her twenties, Christian likely would not have received anything other than potentially being "blackballed from working," if she were to speak out.

"That was the reality back then in the pre-'Me Too' days, unfortunately," she said. Instead, Christian focused on supporting herself, prioritizing her career.

One problem at this point, however, is that the MeToo movement also wound up being used as a means of defamation against men - and possibly even women - who were guilty of less serious offenses like adultery, recalling the case of an author named Jay Asher who had his fortunes destroyed over antics far less noxious than what Busfield's accused of, and who in what's left of the MeToo movement even cares about what Busfield did now? As Busfield's wife Melissa Gilbert's made clear, things are sadly reverting back to what they were in some ways, even if now, Busfield's career has been reduced to ruins. Christian continued to explain why she's come forward now:

However, she felt compelled to speak with police following the news — especially as his alleged victims were children. "I was a young woman when he assaulted me and I was able to move forward with little trauma from the incident, but a child does not have the capacity to understand nor process this sort of behavior from an adult and that is why he needs to be stopped, now," explained Christian.

"Children who are victims of sexual abuse can see their lives destroyed if not treated with the care and love they need post trauma. That sickens me, that he could destroy a child’s life and not only get away with it, but deny it and then turn the blame on them."

The actress isn't expecting "justice" in any way for herself, decades after the alleged incident. She added, "I am simply trying to help the prosecution establish a pattern and precedence. That was my one and only reason for reaching out to the detective in charge of the case."

Christian called the allegations against Busfield just a few in a "pattern of a long term behavior and a sad comment on the fact that men like him got away with this kind of behavior for ages with little or no penalty." [...]

Christian wasn't "surprised" by the allegations against Busfield, she said, "Recent cases have simply exposed their actions but men have been abusing actors and actresses since the dawn of the industry. It is only of late that victims are beginning to feel safe enough to speak their truth."

When it comes to Busfield, Christian believes this fallout could have been prevented, claiming he needs "therapeutic intervention." [...]

"If he would have admitted that he has an issue and asked for help years ago, then we wouldn’t be having this interview. Instead he has arrogantly plowed ahead destroying people’s lives with his out of control behavior," said Christian.

Tragically, Busfield continues his denials, and we have to hope Christian's testimony will lead to incarceration for him. Incidentally, do you know what genre the TV movie Strays belongs to? The horror genre! In other words, Busfield created a real life horror story on the set of a horror movie. One that likely won't be broadcast again in reruns for a long time. Christian's done the right thing to speak out against Busfield, whose career is over, even if it takes the court of public opinion to make this clear.