NFL Great Dana Stubblefield Charged with Raping Disabled Woman

Santa Clara County prosecutors charged former  NFL great Dana Stubblefield with raping a developmentally disabled woman back in April of 2015.

The 45-year-old ex-49er defensive lineman’s attorney, Ken Rosenfeld, vehemently denied the allegations and claimed that his client “is being unfairly targeted due to his celebrity and wealth by someone with full motivation to lie.”

According to the alleged victim, she met Stubblefield at his home while seeking a babysitting opportunity using the caretaker placement service Sittercity.com. Minutes after the 31-year-old woman left the interview, Stubblefield texted her saying that he forgot to reimburse her for the agreed upon gas and mileage expenses that she incurred while driving to the interview.

When she returned to Stubblefield’s home to collect the $80 that he promised her, “the suspect picked her up and carried her into a room where he forcefully raped her, and forced her to orally copulate him,” the Los Angeles Times reported regarding the allegations.

“This was a crime of violence against a vulnerable victim,” Santa Clara prosecutor Tim McInerny stated in a press release. “She was looking for a job and she was unconscionably assaulted.”

According to CNN, the victim left Stubblefield’s house and proceeded immediately to the Morgan Hill Police to report the rape. There she received a SART exam—sexual assault response team exam—used to collect evidence in sexual assault cases.

DNA obtained from the woman matched that of Stubblefield, according to the crime lab.

Rosenfeld acknowledged that his client had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual.  “The clear motivation here is money,”  the attorney said.  He added that Stubblefield “passed a lie detector test and plans to present a full, vigorous defense against these allegations.”

The three-time Pro Bowler and 1993 defensive rookie of the year, who played 11 years in the NFL with the 49ers, Redskins, and Raiders, faces 16 years in prison if found guilty of the charges. His bail is set at $250,000.

This is not the first time Stubblefield’s name has been tarnished with negative publicity. In 2008 he pleaded guilty to using performance-enhancing drugs and earned the dubious distinction of being the first NFL player charged in the BALCO steroids scandal. The watershed BALCO scandal also implicated baseball player Barry Bonds and track-and-field star Marion Jones.