NEWARK, N.J. >> A former Rutgers University professor is appealing her conviction on charges of sexually assaulting a disabled man who she said had consented to the relationship by communicating on a keyboard.

A lawyer for Anna Stubblefield argued today that an expert barred by a judge from testifying at her trial would have convinced a jury that the man could consent to sex. But prosecutors said the judge’s ruling was correct, calling the expert the “godmother” of a “junk pseudoscience.”

Prosecutors say Stubblefield used her position to take advantage of the 34-year-old man, who has cerebral palsy and can’t speak.

Stubblefield testified at trial that she and the man were in love. She was convicted in October 2015 and is serving a 12-year prison term.