Former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dana Stubblefield’s lawyers filed a motion asking the court to set bail in his rape case, according to authorities, despite the recent addition of a gun enhancement to the charges.
The Times was unable to obtain a copy of the motion before press time because Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Duong was reviewing it before she decides whether to schedule a bail hearing for Stubblefield, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court spokesman Benjamin Rada. Stubblefield has been in custody at Santa Clara County Jail since the conclusion of his preliminary hearing Jan. 19.
A recent news report noted that the defendant’s motion to set bail, filed Feb. 5, argues that new evidence shows Stubblefield paid the alleged rape victim for a consensual sexual encounter at his Morgan Hill home in April 2015. Morgan Hill Police have said that Stubblefield contacted the woman for a job interview through a babysitting website, and raped her shortly after she arrived at the home. The woman added during testimony in the recent preliminary hearing that he threatened her with a handgun while he raped her.
Stubblefield, 46, faces a total of five felony charges in relation to the alleged rape of the victim, who is in her 30s, according to authorities. These charges are forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, rape and oral copulation of a person incapable of consent, and false imprisonment. On Jan. 19, prosecutors added a gun enhancement to the charges based on the victim’s testimony, sending him back to jail without bail.
Stubblefield has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Stubblefield’s latest motion claims his lawyers unearthed a short video on a pornography website of the woman dancing nude. The video is allegedly available to paying customers, and the motion argues it proves the woman lied under oath when she testified she had never been paid for sexual or nude acts, according to the Mercury News.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Tim McInerny told the Times that the defense attorneys’ use of this evidence amounts to “victim shaming.”
“To file a motion with evidence about a person’s sexual history is victim shaming,” McInerny said. “It is tone deaf in the ‘Me Too’ and ‘Time’s Up’ environment we’re living in. Victims have rights. This victim’s rights are being violated in an egregious and terrible way. It will be up to a judge to determine what, if any evidence, is admissible in the courtroom.”
Stubblefield was arrested by Morgan Hill Police in May 2016, after officers conducted a year-long investigation into the victim’s claim that the former NFL star raped her. The incident allegedly occurred April 9, 2015. The woman arrived at his home after Stubblefield contacted her through the website sittercity.com, according to police.
After a brief job interview, the woman left, according to authorities. But Stubblefield called her back and offered to pay for her time. When she returned, he carried the woman to a room, raped her, forced her to perform oral sex and then gave her $80, according to police reports.
The woman drove straight to the Morgan Hill police station from Stubblefield’s home to report the incident, according to authorities.
Stubblefield said in a statement after he was released on $250,000 bail following his arraignment in 2016, that he had consensual sex with the woman he is accused of raping. He denied all the charges at that time.
Investigators have also claimed the woman is “intellectually disabled.” Stubblefield’s attorneys have disputed this claim.
Stubblefield’s attorney did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment about the Feb. 5 bail motion. Stubblefield is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 16 for a hearing to set his trial date.
Stubblefield was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1993 draft, and played for the team until the end of the 1997 season. He then played for the Washington Redskins, and returned to the 49ers for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. He then played for the Oakland Raiders in 2003.
