Yovino pleads guilty in false rape case

A judge cleared the way Monday for jury selection to begin in the trial of Nikki Yovino who is accused of making up rape allegations against two Sacred Heart University football players. A judge cleared the way Monday for jury selection to begin in the trial of Nikki Yovino who is accused of making up rape allegations against two Sacred Heart University football players. Photo: File Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: File Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Yovino pleads guilty in false rape case 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — A Long Island woman accused of making up rape allegations against two Sacred Heart University football players to curry favor with a prospective boyfriend was sent to prison Tuesday.

Jury selection was about to begin in the case when 19-year-old Nikki Yovino instead decided to accept a plea deal that could mean she will serve a year in prison.

The case that had charged up the community ended in a whimper. Yovino agreed to plead guilty before Superior Court Judge Maureen Dennis to two counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and one count of interfering with police. All three charges are misdemeanors.

“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 set a precedent 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.

Yovino drummed her fingers on the table in front of her as Messina read out loud the arrest warrant affidavit in the case. Behind Yovino sat her mother, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

“Are the facts as she stated basically correct,” the judge asked Yovino at one point.

“Yes,” Yovino replied.

Under the plea bargain, Yovino will be sentenced Aug. 23 to three years, suspended after she serves one year in prison and followed by three years’ probation.

“You understand you will be serving one year in jail?” the judge asked her.

“Yes,” Yovino said, nodding.

The judge then increases Yovino’s bond to $99,000, an amount Yovino’s lawyer, Ryan O’Neill, said she will not post and will therefore get credit for the time she has served by the sentencing hearing.

Yovino glanced back at her mother as judicial marshals secured her hands behind her back with handcuffs and led her out of the courtroom.

“This was a very difficult decision for Nikki, and a sad day for her and her family,” O’Neill said later. “She will now begin the process of healing and rehabilitation as she awaits her final sentence.”

Police said Yovino claimed she was raped by the two young men in a bathroom during an off-campus party. However, pressed three months later about inconsistencies in her statement, Yovino admitted she had made the allegations up, police said.

On Oct. 15, 2016, police were dispatched to St. Vincent’s Medical Center for a sexual assault complaint. Police said Yovino told them she had attended a Sacred Heart football club party the night before, at a house at Lakeside Drive here.

Police said the teen claimed the two men pulled her into a bathroom in the basement of the house.

“I don’t want to be in here, I don’t want to do anything. My friends are waiting for me outside, let me go outside,” police said she claimed she told the men. Police said she continued by saying the men held her down and each took a turn sexually assaulting her.

Police said both men admitted having sex with Yovino in the bathroom, but said it was consensual.

Detective Walberto Cotto Jr. questioned Yovino again three months later at her Long Island home.

“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,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit. “She stated that she believed when (the other male student) heard the allegation it would make him angry and sympathetic to her.”

Frank Riccio II, who represents the two former football players, said both are considering suing Yovino.

“While this disposition does not replace that which the boys lost, it does send a powerful message that lying about a serious incident carries serious consequences,” Riccio said.