Cooper Koch felt an “immediate connection” with Erik Menéndez during his prison visit (exclusive)

Days after the premiere of Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndezin which he portrays Erik Menéndez, Cooper Koch paid the brothers a visit in prison along with Kim and Khloé Kardashian and their mother Kris Jenner.

“I was so nervous before I got there,” the 28-year-old chef tells PEOPLE. “I had spoken to both of them, so I knew we already had some camaraderie and they knew where I stood. I told them I supported them and that I believed them. I felt like they would welcome me with open arms, but it was still nerve-wracking to meet someone who listened to me and who inspired me.”

When the moment came at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, “there was an immediate connection,” Koch says. “I got to hug both of them and sat next to Erik in this circle with all the other detainees telling their stories and they were both so nice. They’re great people.”

Koch portrays Erik alongside Nicholas Alexander Chavez' Lyle in the Netflix series about the brothers' murder of their parents José and Kitty. Erik, now 53, said through his wife Tammi Menendez that he believes the series is a “disheartening slander” with “vile and appalling character portrayals of Lyle and me.”

“I understand,” Koch says of the criticism. “I understand he would think that way. This is really tough stuff. This is his life, and there is a lot of trauma in his life. It's a tragedy. And he's still in prison, so I understand how difficult it would be. I stand by his side.”

Erik and Lyle's relatives also released a statement about their thoughts on the matter MonsterHe called it “repugnant,” “grotesque” and an “episodic nightmare” that “ignores recent exculpatory revelations.”

“It’s hard,” Koch said of the Menéndez family’s opinion. “We've done a lot of work and I just hope they know I have so much compassion. I understand how difficult this must be for her. This is her family and her life and I know they want to bring her home.”

Koch believes that Erik and Lyle were “screwed by the social justice system” after being sentenced to life in prison when the jury in their October 1995 trial – their second trial after the first was ruled a mistrial – decided to reject the brothers' claims , they would have their own, ignoring her father sexually abused her throughout her childhood.

“In the second trial they were not allowed to talk about the sexual abuse. They had one jury instead of two. There were no cameras. And the prosecutor who was going to be re-elected needed a conviction because OJ got off, all the cops from the Rodney King trial got off, so they needed someone,” Koch says. “I think they were just caught in the perfect storm.”

He also understands why the brothers tried to hide the crime before Erik told his therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel said, whose lover eventually told authorities about the confession. “You told Dr. Oziel didn't because they didn't want to kill their parents twice by telling people what happened,” Koch said.

The actor points out that the discussion about sexual abuse in the 1990s also played a role in the verdict.

“Back then, people couldn’t believe that something like that could happen, that a father would sexually abuse his children,” says Koch. “This does not discredit previous behavior. I don't think they should have killed her parents. I think that was a terrible, terrible thing that they did and they definitely should have served time for that. But they did, and I think time is up.”

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Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez is now streaming on Netflix.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453 or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available around the clock in more than 170 languages.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.