- Nikki Yovino, 19, is accused of lying about being raped by two Sacred Heart University football players at a party in October 2016
- Players said the sex was consensual and police said Yovino later admitted to making up the allegations
- Police allege Yovino lied because she was worried another student would lose romantic interest in her when it became known she had sex with the two players
- She rejected a one-year prison sentence plea deal in Connecticut last week
- Yovino’s case will now go to trial at Bridgeport Superior Court in February
A former Connecticut college student accused of lying about being raped by two university football players to get sympathy from a boy she wanted to date has rejected a one-year prison sentence plea deal.
The case involving Nikki Yovino is now heading to trial after the 19-year-old rejected the plea deal last week in Bridgeport Superior Court.
Prosecutors had offered her a two-year prison sentence and a judge offered her a one-year sentence.
Nikki Yovino, 19, (left in court last year and right in her mugshot) is accused of lying about being raped by two Sacred Heart University football players at a party in October 2016
The judge set a trial date of February 21, the Connecticut Post reports.
Yovino, who lives in South Setauket, New York, had accused two Sacred Heart University football players of sexually assaulting her during an October 2016 party.
The players said the sex was consensual and police said Yovino later admitted to making up the allegations.
Police allege Yovino lied because she was worried another student would lose romantic interest in her when it became known she had sex with the two players.
Yovino, pictured last year with her attorney Mark Sherman, rejected a one-year prison sentence plea deal in Connecticut last week
Her lawyer said during a court appearance last year that Yovino stood by her account that the two players from the university sexually assaulted her in a bathroom during the off-campus party.
Yovino’s lawyer said they are eager to present the whole story to a jury at trial.
She is charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
If found guilty, Yovino could face up to six years in prison.