Melissa Gilbert's Husband Timothy Busfield's Surrender Involved A 20-Hour Drive

Melissa Gilbert's husband, Timothy Busfield, will do all it takes to prove his innocence following heavy charges of child abuse.

The actress's spouse's attorney has clarified the reason why he drove a lengthy distance to make himself available to the authorities after an arrest warrant was declared against him.

An arrest warrant was issued against Melissa Gilbert's husband after he was accused of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with two boys whose identities are undisclosed.

Burfield's attorney finally gave clarity to his client's initial claim that he drove 20 hours to surrender himself to the police. The attorney explained that after he was officially charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact, it became vital for him to make himself available.

The trip was also to honor the January 9th arrest warrant issued by the Albuquerque Police Department. The lawyer, Larry Stein, stressed that his client had repeatedly asked through his criminal lawyer, Chris Dodd, that his arrest warrant be removed before he turned himself in while he was across the country.

"He can't have an arrest warrant pending because if he goes to the airport to come here from across the country, he's gonna get arrested," Stein explained to PEOPLE.

The refusal of the police department to remove the warrant seemingly left Busfield with no choice but to turn himself in because he could not go on any trip by air.

Burfield and his attorney's story failed to convince the Bernalillo District Attorney's office that he was not trying to stall his surrender. The DA insisted Burfield's decision to travel by car is a "calculated decision to submit to law enforcement only on terms most convenient to him."

They had stated in a pretrial detention motion that Burfield delayed for five days, traveling from New York to New Mexico to avoid the extradition process. Stein fired back, stressing that the involvement of the U.S Marshals Service to locate and arrest Burfield was unnecessary. 

The lawyer added, "He wanted to do the right thing, and they didn't give him any choice. He had to drive." Additionally, Stein claimed that his client is very devastated about the charges and "will defend himself because these are absolutely false allegations."

The actress's husband, who has now turned himself in, had previously admitted that it may have happened in the past that he had physical contact with the children on a "playful" set.

As noted by The Blast, he described the environment on the set of "The Cleaning Lady" as playful, and no rules were laid down on physical contact with children.

He had explained to law enforcement agents last November that while the kids were not allowed to be picked up or interacted with on set, there was no established guideline for physical contact between adults and child actors.

"I mean, I'm always around people, right? It would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it," Busfield stated. The actor continued that he also sometimes helped other kids to get ready to act on set, but he never did that with the minors in question.

Most importantly, Busfield revealed that the kids were never left without the supervision of a parent, teacher, or welfare worker.

The Blast stated that an investigator who conducted a phone interview with Busfield and Gilbert reported that the couple admitted to advancing their relationship with the boys off the movie set. 

According to the investigator, Busfield and Gilbert claimed they also knew their parents, bought the boys Christmas gifts, and hung out with them at several social events. 

In a confession from one of the minors, Busfield’s abuse began when he was just seven years old, to the point that he became very afraid of the director and would always heave a sigh of relief when he was away from set. 

The boy added that he was always terrified to open up to anyone because it might cause Gilbert’s husband to boot him off the set due to his position as the director. In addition to the two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, the actor was also slammed with one count of child abuse.

The actress also found herself involved in her husband's debacle following a visit by heavily armed officers to her hideaway home in the upstate area of New York.

Gilbert's vacation home in the Catskills Mountains received officers from the New York Regional Fugitive Task Force on January 14, as her husband surrendered 2,000 miles away.

Sources claimed to The Daily Mail that about 10 officers arrived at the home wearing helmets, shields, and fully decked in riot gear while carrying assault rifles. Upon their arrival on the property, they demanded that the occupants come outside.

After receiving no responses from the building, the officers reportedly took down the front door and proceeded to conduct a ten-minute inspection indoors before departing the home. Despite the intensity of the raid, they allegedly did not leave with any personal belongings.

What is next in Melissa Gilbert's husband's case now that he surrendered?