Julia Roberts' Sister-in-Law Says Don't Vilify Alleged Victims in Busfield Case

Julia Roberts' sister-in-law Eliza Roberts accused Timothy Busfield of sexually harassing her over 30 years ago ... and now she says the alleged victims in the actor/director's recent child sex abuse charges should not be "vilified."

Photogs caught up with Eliza on Monday as she was headed to the movies in Los Angeles, where she tells us we should all believe the 2 brothers who claimed Busfield touched their private parts while on the set of the TV show, "The Cleaning Lady," in 2022, according to court documents. Prosecutors say the 7-year-old twins were actors and Busfield was the director.

Despite their accusations against the director, the boys originally told investigators Busfield never acted inappropriately toward them.

But Eliza never addressed that fact in this interview, saying she thinks it's unacceptable to vilify alleged sexual abuse victims and anyone "who's done that sort of thing shouldn't be free to keep doing it for 40 or 50 years." She also suggested Busfield suffers from a compulsion and needs help.

In 1994, Eliza -- who is married to Julia Roberts' brother Eric -- submitted a deposition after a 17-year-old girl from Minnesota accused Busfield of sexually harassing her on the set of "Little Big League."

According to the Daily Mail, Eliza labeled Busfield a "creep" who tried to talk Eliza into having sex with him. The Mail says Busfield complained that his then-wife was a "lousy f***" and insisted he would be great in bed with Eliza.