False rape claim case going to trial

Nikki Yovino, seen here with her attorney Mark Sherman in Bridgeport Superior Court in March. Yovino. a former Sacred Heart University student, accused of making up rape allegations against two football players, was denied a pretrial probation program Friday. less Nikki Yovino, seen here with her attorney Mark Sherman in Bridgeport Superior Court in March. Yovino. a former Sacred Heart University student, accused of making up rape allegations against two football ... more Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo Buy photo Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close False rape claim case going to trial 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — A former Sacred Heart University student, accused of making up rape allegations against two football players to gain sympathy from a perspective boyfriend, rejected a plea agreement for the second time Wednesday.

“Rejecting any kind of deal is part of the trial process,” said Stamford lawyer Ryan O’Neill, who represents 19-year-old Nikki Yovino. “We’re eager to get this case—especially the whole story of what happened and didn’t happen at that party—in front of a jury. There’s much more to this case than what’s being reported.”

Superior Court Judge Maureen Dennis tentatively scheduled the case for trial before a jury on Feb. 21.

“Both young men are prepared to testify at trial and let the facts be known,” said Bridgeport lawyer Frank Riccio, who represents the now former football players.

Yovino, who left Sacred Heart and now works in real estate in Long Island, is charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. If convicted of the charges, one a felony and the other a misdemeanor, she could face up to six years in prison.

Police said Yovino claimed she was raped on Oct. 15, 2016, by the two young men in a bathroom during an off-campus party.

However, pressed three months later about inconsistencies in her statement, police said Yovino admitted she had made the allegations up.

Yovino was offered a plea bargain by prosecutors of two years in prison and later a judge’s offer of one year in exchange for a guilty plea to the charges.

“She is electing to reject both the state’s and the court’s offer,” O’Neill told Judge Dennis during a brief hearing on Wednesday as his client stood beside him.

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