SVU Recasts Role After Busfield Child Sex Charges

NBC has recast a guest role in an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit following criminal charges against actor Timothy Busfield, with David Zayas stepping in to portray a judge in the installment titled "Corrosive." The episode, originally scheduled to air on January 15, 2026, was pulled from the lineup after authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Busfield last month. It has since been reshot and is now set to premiere on February 26, 2026, marking the show's return after a hiatus for NBC's coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Busfield, 68, faces two counts of criminal sexual contact involving a minor and one count of child abuse stemming from allegations that he inappropriately touched two seven-year-old twin boys during production of the Fox series The Cleaning Lady. He served as a director on six episodes of the show from 2022 to 2025 and as an executive producer on 14 episodes. The investigation began in November 2024 after the boys' mother reported concerns to medical professionals at the University of New Mexico Hospital. According to the arrest warrant, the alleged incidents occurred starting in 2022 when the children were seven years old.