Former Rutgers-Newark Professor Convicted Of Raping Disabled Man

A former Rutgers-Newark professor has been convicted of first degree sexual assault for raping a disabled man, authorities stated on Friday afternoon.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, an Essex County jury has convicted Anna Stubblefield, the former head of the Philosophy Department at Rutgers-Newark, of two counts of first-degree sexual assault for raping a disabled man.

The jury found Stubblefield, 45, of West Orange, guilty of sexually assaulting the victim, who is unable to speak and wears a diaper, following a five-week trial, prosecutors stated.

The sexual assault occurred on two occasions in the Spring of 2011 at Stubblefield’s campus office, where she took the victim claiming to help him communication, prosecutors stated.

“This was a truly tragic case of a professor, the chair of the Philosophy Department, using her position to take advantage of a severely disabled person to advance her own career and to satisfy her own sexual desires. She raped a defenseless man,’’ said Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant who tried the case.

A judge immediately revoked Stubblefield’s bail; she is currently being housed in the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Stubblefield faces a maximum of 40 years in New Jersey State Prison, prosecutors stated in a release.