A former college professor convicted of raping a man with the mental capabilities of a toddler now faces a $4 million fine for her actions.
A judge ordered Anna Stubblefield, a former Rutgers-Newark professor, to pay $2 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages stemming from a civil case filed by the man’s brother and mother, reports NJ.com.
Stubblefield professed to be in love with D.J., the 35-year-old brother of one of her students. D.J. has cerebral palsy, the mental faculties of a toddler, cannot speak and cannot walk unless someone is there to help him balance.
Last year, Stubblefield, a former chair of the Rutgers philosophy department, was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of D.J. A judge sentenced her to 12 years in prison.
“My clients are victims of a horrible predator, and they’re wonderful people,” attorney Charles S. Lorber told NJ.com over the phone Tuesday.
Stubblefield represented herself in the civil case when the judgement was made. According to Lorber, she “basically conceded the case.”
Stubblefield supported facilitated communication, a method that supposedly provides a way for disabled people to communicate with others. D.J.’s brother asked if facilitated communication could work for D.J., according to the civil complaint.
In working with D.J., Stubblefield, claimed that they fell in love after a year of her being around him. Married with two children, she claimed that with her guidance, D.J could type proper sentences and communicate complex ideas.
She argued that the sex between them was consensual, with D.J. declaring, “I feel alive for the first time in my life” after they had sex on the floor of her office at Rutgers.
The family was skeptical of D.J. being able to communicate; they finally told her to leave them alone after she confessed that she was in love with him.
In their lawsuit, the family maintained that Stubblefield tried to exploit D.J. because of his disability and that she violated his rights.
Send tips to amber@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.