Two Sacred Heart University football players were suspended from their team last year and lost their scholarships after they were both accused of rape last October. On Wednesday, it was their accuser, Nikki Yovino, who was the one facing consequences after it was revealed that she fabricated the charges in an effort to get sympathy from a prospective boyfriend.
Yovino, an 18-year-old from South Setauket, New York, went to a Sacred Heart football club party on October 14. The next day she went to the hospital to report a sexual assault. Investigators said Yovino claimed two men pulled her into a bathroom in the basement of the house and held her down, taking turns sexually assaulting her, the Connecticut Post reports.
“I don’t want to be in here, I don’t want to do anything,” police said she claimed she told the men. “My friends are waiting for me outside, let me go outside.”
Both men admitted to having sex with Yovino, but claimed it was consensual. Both students were forced to withdraw from the university after their scholarships were revoked.
The Bridgeport Police questioned other students at the party and they said it appeared that Yovino willingly went into the bathroom with the men. According to the arrest warrant, one student said he overheard Yovino telling the men she wanted to have sex with them.
Police questioned Yovino again and found inconsistencies in her testimony from her original statement.
“She admitted that she made up the allegation of sexual assault against (the football players) because it was the first thing that came to mind and she didn’t want to lose (another male student) as a friend and potential boyfriend. She stated that she believed when (the other male student) heard the allegation it would make him angry and sympathetic to her,” according to the affidavit.
Yovino has been charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. She was released after posting $5,000 bond, and faces up to five years in prison if convicted on the tampering charge, a felony. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on March 3.
Mark Sherman, Yovino’s attorney, said he had not yet been provided with police reports and video footage pertaining to the case, but he told The New York Post he expects Yovino to plead not guilty at her arraignment. Sherman said he hadn’t seen the arrest warrant affidavit but continued, “My client denies the allegations and stands by her original story.”
“Whenever there is any kind of incident at Sacred Heart University, we go to great lengths to ensure due process for all parties involved,” said SHU spokeswoman Deborah Noack. “The way that this particular case is playing out certainly demonstrates the validity of our procedures.”
One of the students has now been allowed back to Sacred Heart, but without his scholarship and he will not be on the football team.
[CTPost]
