On Thursday, former San Francisco 49ers star, Dana Stubblefield, learned his fate. The former NFL player has been on trial after a woman accused him of raping her while he interviewed her for a babysitting job. Now, the sentence for his conviction has been determined, and it could put the NFL star behind bars for the rest of his days – literally.
Despite this loss in court, Stubblefield’s legal team keeps fighting. They have asked the Sixth Court of Appeal to see the former NFL player’s case in a different court. That motion was denied, which puts the player in a very tough position as he looks down the barrel at some hard prison time.
Stubblefield was found guilty of rape by force, oral copulation by force, and forced imprisonment. It was also determined that the NFL player used a gun during the rape to subdue his victim and to prevent her from fighting back. However, the jury did not find him guilty of the additional charge of rape of a person incapable of giving consent.
The rape occurred on April 9, 2015. His victim, who was identified only as Jane Doe, appeared at Stubblefield’s home to interview for a babysitting job. The woman completed the interview and was leaving the former NFL player’s home when she received a text message from him. He told her that he wanted to give her cash to pay for her trip out to his home.
Police found text messages that verified the woman’s story.
Although the prosecution portrayed the victim as an intellectually disabled woman incapable of providing consent, that charge was denied. Nevertheless, the jury felt there was plenty of evidence to prove that Stubblefield raped the would-be babysitter back in April 2015.
Meanwhile, Stubblefield’s defense team claimed that the would-be babysitter returned to the NFL player’s home for a paid sexual encounter. This was never proven in court and was denied by the jury.
Now that Stubblefield could be spending the rest of his life behind bars for raping an intellectually disabled woman, his career with the San Francisco 49ers will forever be marred. Despite appearing in the Super Bowl three times with the West Coast team – earning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1993 and Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 – this rape conviction will haunt him until the end.