A young woman who falsely accused two Sacred Heart University football players of rape to win over another man was sent to jail on Tuesday.
Jury selection in 19-year-old Nikki Yovino’s trial was set to begin Tuesday in Connecticut court, but at the last minute the teen took a plea deal, admitting to making the assault story up, according to the Connecticut Post.
As part of the deal, the Long Island woman will spend a year in jail. She will be officially sentenced in August, but decided to skip posting bail on Tuesday in favor of starting her sentence immediately.
Nikki Yovino, 19 (pictured on March 3), took a plea deal on Tuesday, admitting to making up a rape allegation against two former Sacred Heart University football players
Yovino was a student at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut when police say she reported being raped by two football players at an off-campus party in Bridgeport in October 2016.
Three months after the incident, an investigator pressed Yovino on her accusations in an interview at her home and she admitted that the sex was consensual. She said she made up the story because she was scared another man would lose interest in her if he knew the truth.
She was initially charged with evidence tampering, a felony, and falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, and faced up to five years behind bars. Prosecutors downgraded the charges to two counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and one count of interfering with police, both misdemeanors, to get Yovino to plead guilty.
Yovino claimed two Sacred Heart University (campus pictured above) football players raped her in the bathroom of an off-campus party. She later confessed that she made the story up
‘We were prepared to go to trial on the original felony charge but after lengthy discussions with all parties involved and considering all outside factors, this was an appropriate disposition that will hopefully send a message about how serious the state takes this conduct,’ Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Tatiana Messina told the judge.
‘The important thing is that the victims are happy with the disposition,’ added Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Trudeau added.
As her arrest warrant was read aloud in court on Tuesday, Yovino drummed her finds on the table. Her mother sat behind her and wipes away tears with a tissue.
She looked to her mother as the bailiff led her out of court in handcuffs.
Yovino allegedly made the rape story up because she was afraid a man she was romantically interested in would lose interest in her if she knew the sex was consensual
‘This was a very difficult decision for Nikki, and a sad day for her and her family,’ her attorney Ryan O’Neill said later. ‘She will now begin the process of healing and rehabilitation as she awaits her final sentence.’
Yovino withdrew from Sacred Heart. The football players were never criminally charged, but both withdrew from the school as they faced possible disciplinary action. One player lost a football scholarship, his lawyer said.
The football players’ names have not been released by police.
‘Her actions have seriously affected them,’ their attorney Frank Riccio II said. ‘They’re no longer in school. The loss of their education and the college experience has certainly affected them greatly. And this is all because of a very serious lie.’
Riccio says that the two victims are considering suing Yovino.