Julia Roberts’ sister-in-law once claimed that disgraced actor Timothy Busfield allegedly sexually “harassed and humiliated” her, according to a recently unearthed deposition.
Eliza Roberts made the claims in a deposition she voluntarily submitted in 1994 after a 17-year-old girl from Minnesota accused Busfield of sexually harassing her on the set of “Little Big League” the year prior, The Daily Mail reported Sunday.
In her deposition, obtained by the Mail, Roberts, 73, testified that Busfield, 68, was a “creep” who “compulsively” chased after women.
Roberts, the wife of Julia’s brother Eric, offered her sworn statement along with five other unidentified women in support of the teen’s lawsuit, which was settled out of court for an unknown sum in July 1995, the outlet reported.
She claimed that five years earlier, Busfield allegedly tried to cajole her into having sex, pompously insisting he would be “so great in bed” for her while complaining that his then-wife was a “lousy f–k,” according to the court document obtained by the Mail.
Busfield and Jenny Merwin wed in 1988. He divorced from actress Radha Delamarter in 1986.
Three of the other women who submitted statements, also obtained by the Mail, were involved in the production of “Little Big League.”
Two of them testified that Busfield hit on them in bars in a persistent, unsettling and aggressively sexual manner, according to the report.
Roberts, an actress, casting director and talent manager, was around 41 at the time of her deposition. The exact ages of the other women were unclear.
No criminal charges were filed in the 1994 case.
Busfield vanished in early January after he was slapped with child sex abuse charges. A year-long investigation by authorities in New Mexico revealed that Busfield allegedly groomed child actors on the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady” in 2024.
When the “West Wing” alum was questioned by an officer, he allegedly admitted it was “highly likely that he would have” had physical contact with the 11-year-old twin boys at the center of a criminal misconduct investigation against him.
Busfield then allegedly tried to cover his tracks and added that the set was an inherently “playful environment,” according to his arrest warrant.
One of the boys said he was “very afraid” of Busfield on the set of the Fox show in 2024, and hadn’t told anyone at the time, “because Tim was the director, and he feared Tim would get mad at him,” according to the warrant.
Busfield surrendered to police at his upstate New York home on Jan. 13.
He faces two counts of criminal misconduct against a minor — one for each twin — and one count of child abuse.
Busfield has denied wrongdoing.
On Jan. 14, Busfield was also publicly accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at the B Street Theatre, which the actor founded in Sacramento, California. He has not been charged in connection with the alleged abuse against the 16-year-old in California.
