Former NFL Pro Bowler Convicted of Rape

Former 3-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XXIX Champion Dana Stubblefield was convicted of rape on Tuesday.

The 45-year old former Defensive Tackle –who made a name for himself with the San Francisco 49ers– is facing 15 years to life in prison.

A jury of 12 men and women found that Stubblefield “raped and forced oral copulation” on an unnamed woman in April of 2015. Stubblefield used a firearm during the incident which raises the severity of the sentence he faces.

Stubblefield was charged back in May 2016 with raping the victim who was a 31-year old developmentally disabled woman he lured to his house from a baby sitting website.

He invited the woman over for a “job interview” in 2015. After the woman left the house, Stubblefield texted her to invite her back so he could “pay her for her time”. When she returned to Stubblefield’s residence he picked her up and took her to a room where the incident occurred.

After the incident, Stubblefield gave the victim $80 dollars and sent her on her way.

While the DNA evidence matched Stubblefield, his attorney said he was being “unfairly targeted due to his celebrity and wealth”. His attorney also stated that Stubblefield passed a lie detector test “with flying colors”. However, the jury was left unconvinced.

Despite Stubblefield’s on-field success as an All-Pro and becoming NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1997, he has been marred by a slew of legal issues since retiring.

In 2009, Stubblefield received two years of probation for lying to federal investigators over performance-enhancing drug scandal in which his name appeared on a client list of a laboratory which was distributing them to NFL players. He received a lighter sentence for his cooperation by turning over names of players he suspected were using drugs.

The following year, Stubblefield was sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing his girlfriend’s mail by submitting fraudulent change-of-address forms.

Marcus Harpring