Police: Football players falsely accused of rape

Police say Nikki Yovino, 18, confessed to making up rape allegations college football players to gain the sympathy of a prospective boyfriend. The players were later cut from the team, had their scholarships stripped and were forced into leaving the school. less Police say Nikki Yovino, 18, confessed to making up rape allegations college football players to gain the sympathy of a prospective boyfriend. The players were later cut from the team, had their scholarships ... more Photo: Bridgeport Police Dept. / Contributed Photo Photo: Bridgeport Police Dept. / Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police: Football players falsely accused of rape 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — It was another harrowing case of an alleged rape occurring at an off-campus drinking party of underage college students.

In this instance, a teen claimed she was repeatedly raped by two Sacred Heart University football players in a tiny basement bathroom while the party raged on.

But months after the players were dismissed from the team and had withdrawn from the school 18-year-old Nikki Yovino confessed she had made the rape allegations up to gain the sympathy of a prospective boyfriend, police said.

On Wednesday, Yovino, of South Setauket, N.Y., was charged with second-degree false reporting of an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

The tampering charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

After surrendering to police here, Yovino was released after posting $150,000 bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on March 3.

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

Yovino’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, of Stamford, said he hadn’t seen the arrest warrant affidavit but continued, “My client denies the allegations and stands by her original story.”

In the arrest affidavit, Detective Walberto Cotto Jr. said that last October a university official told him both players had been academically suspended by SHU because of the sexual assault allegation.

Cotto also wrote in the affidavit that one of the players “lost a year of NCAA sports eligibility and his Division 1 NCAA football scholarship.” A source with knowledge of investigation told Hearst Connecticut Media that the other player also lost his scholarship.

Sacred Heart University disputed some of those assertions.

“The federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act prevents us from providing information about specific students. However, I can say that some of the early information that was released is inaccurate,” SHU communications director Deb Noack said in the statement. “Sacred Heart never expelled the two students nor was any student stripped of scholarships because of any allegations.

“Whenever there is any kind of incident at Sacred Heart University, we go to great lengths to ensure due process for all parties involved,” Noack said. “The way that this particular case is playing out certainly demonstrates the validity of our procedures.”

The names of the two students, one of whom has since returned to SHU, are being withheld by Hearst Connecticut Media. The lawyer for one of the students said his client does not want to comment on Yovino’s arrest and wants to put the incident behind him.

According to the arrest affidavit, when police Detective Walberto Cotto Jr. pressed Yovino about inconsistencies in her original statement, she admitted she had made up the allegations against the two young men in the hope of gaining sympathy from a prospective boyfriend.

On Oct. 15, 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 girl 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 claims she told the men.

Police said Yovino told them they 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. Both students agreed to withdraw from the university after they were stripped of their scholarships and as they were about to go before a disciplinary hearing.

Cotto later questioned Yovino again after others students told them it appeared Yovino had gone willingly into the bathroom with the men. One student said he had overheard Yovino telling the men she wanted to have sex with them, the affidavit said.

NOTE: Earlier online versions of this story said two Sacred Heart University students had been expelled because of sexual assault allegations. Earlier versions also did not not include a statement from the university saying the students had not been expelled or had their scholarships revoked.