One of the trending titles on Netflix in the US is the documentary “Tell Them You Love Me,” which is currently the second most watched film. Directed by Nick August-Perna, the film explores a controversial relationship between a white, able-bodied professor and a nonverbal Black man with cerebral palsy. And, if you’ve already watched it, you might have doubts about what happens with Anna Stubblefield in real life.
Stubblefield was an ethics professor at Rutgers University-Newark, and she first met Derrick Johnson, who had cerebral palsy in 2009. They met through Derrick’s brother, John Johnson, who was one of her students. Stubblefield, then 41, offered her help with Derrick, then 30, with his communication skills.
With her assistance, Derrick learned how to use a keyboard to communicate. However, she then started an intimate relationship with him, which he could not fully consent to. Also, Derrick’s mother argued that his son could only use the keyboard with her help, manipulating him. In the documentary it is said that Subblefield was sentenced in 2015, but it doesn’t explain much more than that. Here’s what to know about her case.
Anna Stubblefield’s sentence: How much time did she serve in prison?
The jury found Stubblefield guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and sentenced her to 12 years in prison, but she eventually served less time. Before the sentencing, John Johnson delivered an emotional letter detailing the personal impact of Anna’s actions. An excerpt from his letter reads:
“I don’t think Anna understood the depth of pain she caused my family. She tried to lay claim to him and rename him. She tried to supplant Derrick’s life, a life steeped in the history and culture of his God-fearing, Southern-rooted African American family,” he expressed.
Stubblefield served only two years of her 12-year sentence due to a legal technicality. A panel of three judges overturned her conviction, stating that excluding facilitated communication as a defense violated her rights. Specifically, that the judge should have allowed testimony by Stubblefield “expert” witness regarding facilitated communication.
After that, plead guilty for intentionally touching the victim’s “intimate parts for the purposes of mutual sexual gratification” and that she “should have known that the victim had been determined to be ‘mentally defective’ to the point of being incapable of providing consent.”
Where is she now?
According to Screen Rant, Since Anna had already served two years, she accepted a plea deal on a lesser charge and was released. Now free, Anna lives in obscurity and works remotely, with her exact location unknown.
How old is Anna Stubblefield now?
She is 56 years old.
