Former San Francisco 49ers star player, Dana Stubblefield has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for raping a developmentally disabled woman in 2015.
The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said in a statement issued that the 49-year-old was sentenced recently by a judge in San Jose after rejecting a defense motion for a new trial.
Stubblefield was convicted in July after a nine-month trial after he was a jury found him guilty of rape by force, oral copulation by force, and false imprisonment after luring the woman to his house with the promise of babysitting work. Also, the jury found that he used a gun during the assault.
Prosecutors said that a day before the rape in April 2015, Stubblefield contacted the woman on a baby-sitting website and scheduled an interview.
The Morgan Hill Police Department revealed that the woman’s interview lasted 20 minutes. Later, she received a text revealing Stubblefield wanted to pay her for the time she spent that day and she went back to the Stubblefield’s house.
After she was raped, Stubblefield gave her $80 and released her but the woman went to the police and reported the rape on her way home.
While talking about the case, Deputy District Attorney, Tim McInerny said “No meant nothing to this defendant. Based on his status, I think he was never held accountable for prior criminal behavior. Today, he was properly held accountable.”
Stubblefield’s attorney, Allen Sawyer did not agree with the jury’s finding and said: “We are as adamant as ever that Mr. Stubblefield is innocent.”
He strongly believes the victim is not disabled intellectually and said the evidence to prove it was not included in the trial.
Sawyer also made it known that he would file an appeal with the hope of ‘reintroducing excluded evidence, arguing additionally that holding a trial during a pandemic created an atmosphere that unduly impacted the jurors’ decision.
