NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A New Jersey appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Rutgers University professor who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a disabled man she said consented to the relationship by communicating on a keyboard.
The court also ruled Friday that Anna Stubblefield should get a new trial with a new judge. The three-judge panel found the trial judge erred by barring testimony from an expert witness for the defense.
Stubblefield, who once chaired Rutgers-Newark’s philosophy department, testified at trial that she and the man fell in love after she was brought on by his family to help him communicate. But prosecutors said Stubblefield used her position to take advantage of the then-29-year-old man, who has cerebral palsy and can’t speak.
Stubblefield was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
On appeal, her lawyer argued that an expert barred by the trial judge from testifying would’ve convinced jurors the man could consent to sex. The expert had done a three-day evaluation of the man that included “facilitated communication,” a technique in which a person trained in the method assists a disabled person usually with typing.