Rutgers-Newark professor Anna Stubblefield was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault for abusing a disabled man in her Newark office in 2011
NEWARK -- As the jurors walked out of the Newark courtroom on Friday, Rutgers-Newark professor Anna Stubblefield sat slumped over at the defense table, weeping with her head against her hand.
The jury had convicted the 45-year-old philosophy professor of sexually assaulting a 34-year-old disabled man, known as D.J., who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak beyond making noises. Psychologists have determined he is mentally incompetent and cannot consent to sexual activity.
Stubblefield had claimed she and D.J. fell in love, saying he is not intellectually impaired and was able to communicate through a controversial typing method, known as "facilitated communication."
But after less than three hours of deliberations between Thursday and Friday, the jury ultimately determined D.J. was unable to consent to the sexual acts in Stubblefield's Newark office in 2011 and found her guilty of two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault.
Stubblefield is now facing between 10 and 40 years in state prison when she is sentenced on Nov. 9.
After the jury had left the courtroom, Stubblefield's attorney, James Patton, asked Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare to allow Stubblefield to remain released on bail until her sentencing.
Patton argued Stubblefield does not present any danger to the community or a risk of flight, and noted that she has no criminal history.
"I think every one of us agrees that this has been a very unusual case," Patton told the judge. "She fell in love. She has no prior history of sexual misconduct whatsoever. She has no criminal record."
Patton also said Stubblefield is responsible for taking care of her 15-year-old daughter and he provided the judge with a letter from a psychotherapist who has been assisting the teenager. Stubblefield is the "sole custodial parent" of her daughter, who has been estranged from the girl's father, Patton said.
Patton said Stubblefield needed time before her sentencing to find the appropriate care for her daughter.
But Teare rejected Patton's request, revoked Stubblefield's bail and ordered her to be taken into custody.
"It is one thing to be accused," Teare said. "It is another thing to be convicted, not on one, but on two first-degree crimes.
"I think the risk of flight is great," the judge added.
As Stubblefield continued crying, her mother approached the front of the courtroom, but a sheriff's officer instructed her to return to her seat. Another sheriff's officer then placed Stubblefield in handcuffs behind her back.
"Take care of my daughter, please," Stubblefield said through tears before she was ultimately escorted to a holding cell.
Outside the courtroom afterward, Patton said they were "disappointed" in the verdict and vowed to appeal the conviction.
"We will be pursuing an appeal," Patton said.
MORE: Jury begins deliberations in professor's sex assault trial
The verdict was reached soon after the jury returned to court on Friday morning. After deliberating for less than two hours on Thursday, jurors deliberated for about 45 minutes on Friday before notifying the judge that they had reached a decision.
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant, who tried the case, later said in an interview that the amount of jury deliberations was "an indication of how well they paid attention during the trial and were able to come to a verdict because of the overwhelming amount of evidence."
"This is a professor at a respected university who used her position of power to take advantage of a severely disabled individual, not only to satisfy her own sexual desires, but also to use him additionally to further her career," Plant said.
Over the roughly three-week trial, the case largely reflected the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of facilitated communication.
Advocates of the method claim facilitators provide physical support to assist users with typing on a keyboard. But critics have said the method is ineffective in light of studies showing facilitators influencing the users' messages.
Stubblefield, a West Orange resident, has claimed D.J. is not intellectually impaired and that he was able to consent to the sexual acts through facilitated communication.
Stubblefield originally met D.J. in 2009 through his brother, then a Rutgers student, who was taking a course of Stubblefield's during which the professor showed a video about the method. The brother later asked her for more information about the method to see if it might help D.J.
Over the following two years, Stubblefield worked with D.J. through the technique. She claimed he was able to communicate through the typing method, including by writing papers that were presented at conferences and essays for a literature class at Rutgers.
Stubblefield said she and D.J. fell in love and ultimately disclosed their sexual relationship to his mother and brother in May 2011.
After the sexual assault allegations surfaced, Rutgers placed Stubblefield on administrative leave without pay and stripped her of the title of chairwoman of the philosophy department.
But Plant presented testimony from experts who had evaluated D.J. and collectively found he has intellectual disabilities and is unable to consent to sexual activity. D.J. also is physically disabled, wears diapers and requires assistance with walking, bathing, dressing and eating, his family members said.
Plant also highlighted how studies have shown facilitated communication does not work and that several scientific organizations have issued statements that the technique is invalid.
As the final witness in the trial, James Todd, a psychology professor at Eastern Michigan University, testified for the state about how every "methodologically sound" study of facilitated communication has determined it to be an invalid means of communication.
"It's become the single most scientifically discredited intervention in all of developmental disabilities," Todd said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.