SAN JOSE -- Former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield who has a troubled track record with women accusing him of violence, now faces the m...
SAN JOSE -- Former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield who has a troubled track record with women accusing him of violence, now faces the most serious allegation yet: On Monday, he was charged with raping a "developmentally delayed" woman who went to his Morgan Hill home to interview for a job as a nanny, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Stubblefield, 45, is charged with five felony counts related to the alleged assault on April 9, 2015, and faces a "substantial prison sentence" if convicted, according to prosecutors.
"This was a crime of violence against a vulnerable victim," said deputy district attorney Tim McInerny in a statement. "She was looking for a job and she was unconscionably assaulted."
Dana Stubblefield, 45, a former 49ers player, was charged on May 2, 2016 with five felony counts related to the reported sexual assault in April, 2015 of a Dana Stubblefield, 45, a former 49ers player, was charged on May 2, 2016 with five felony counts related to the reported sexual assault in April, 2015 of a developmentally delayed woman who was interviewing for a job as a nanny at his Morgan Hill home. (Morgan Hill Police) Through his Sacramento-based attorney, Ken Rosenfeld, Stubblefield called the allegations "false" and "fraudulent." In a statement, Rosenfeld said Stubblefield and the woman had consensual sex, and that she asked him for a job and money afterward.
Bail for Stubblefield is set at $250,000. He was still in custody Monday evening and his arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
According to a Morgan Hill police report, Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old woman, who officials said has a "severe speech impediment," last year through Sittercity.com to see if she was interested in a job as a nanny. They set up an interview for the next day at his home.
The interview lasted about 20 minutes, police said, then the woman left. Minutes later, she received a text message from Stubblefield saying he wanted to pay her for her time that day, the report said. She went back to the house where Stubblefield picked her up, carried her to a room, raped her and forced her to "orally copulate him," the report said.
Stubblefield gave her $80 and let her go, the report said. The woman drove straight to the Morgan Hill Police Department and reported being assaulted by a man named "Dana."
DNA evidence matched that of Stubblefield, the report said. He is charged with rape, rape of a victim incapable of giving consent, oral copulation, oral copulation with a victim incapable of giving consent and false imprisonment, according to the criminal complaint.
Stubblefield's attorney said there is no evidence to support the allegations.
"Dana Stubblefield is being unfairly targeted due to his celebrity and wealth by someone with full motivation to lie," Rosenfeld said. "Mr. Stubblefield passed a lie detector test with flying colors and will present a full, vigorous defense against these false allegations."
Stubblefield, who coached at Valley Christian High School in San Jose for five years after his NFL career, is no stranger to legal troubles. During his first marriage in 2000, when he was playing for Washington, Stubblefield was arrested on charges of assaulting his wife.
In 2008, he was caught in the Balco scandal, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation for lying to federal agents about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. A year later, a former fiancée obtained a restraining order against him, calling him "violent and unpredictable." He tried to knock her off her bicycle with his car, she said. She said that in phone calls he "threatened me with violence and death."
In 2010, Stubblefield was sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing her mail, including her unemployment checks. It was the allegations by that fiancée that prompted Stubblefield to leave Valley Christian in 2009.
Stephen E. McMinn, Valley Christian Schools' chief operating officer, said Stubblefield hasn't worked there in 6 1/2 years. He sought to return to Valley Christian in 2014 but did not complete the application process, the school said Monday.
"We are all saddened by the recent news regarding Dana and are praying for all concerned," McMinn said.
Stubblefield's alleged crime occurred more than a year ago, McInerny said, but the investigation needed time.
"We feel that these are important cases for us to get it right," McInerny said. "We understand the ramifications both to the victim and to the suspect. This is a case that it took what it took for us to file charges this week. We take all these cases very seriously, especially sexual assault."
Prosecutors around the country have been extremely cautious -- some say too much so -- to ensure sex cases against athletes are airtight before they file charges ever since the Duke University lacrosse rape case imploded in 2007.
Three members of the North Carolina team had been falsely accused in 2006 of raping a stripper in what came to be understood as a rush to judgment, which backfired a year later and led to the resignation and disbarment of the Durham County district attorney.
In Santa Clara County, several athletes have been charged with sex crimes, including former 49er defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who was indicted by a criminal grand jury on rape charges.
Stubblefield was a first-round draft pick in 1993 from the University of Kansas as a defensive tackle for San Francisco, where he played for seven of his 11 years in the NFL.
He stayed with the team through 1997, then moved to the Washington Redskins, where he played through 2000. He returned to the 49ers for the 2001 and 2002 seasons, but played his last year in 2003 for the Oakland Raiders.
A couple of months before the alleged April 2015 attack, Stubblefield moved with his wife and small children from their home in Willow Glen to Morgan Hill.
Staff writer Darren Sabedra contributed to this report. Contact Jason Green at 408-920-5006. Follow him at Twitter.com/JGreenMercNews.
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