A student at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University is now on the other side of accusations of wrongdoing after police charged her with filing a false report of rape against two college football players.
In 2016, student Nikki Yovino, 18, told police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, that she was raped in the bathroom of a house where a party was raging. Afterward, Yovino accused two members of the school’s football team of repeatedly raping her that night, the Connecticut Post reported.
In short order, both football players were removed from the team, lost their scholarships, and were kicked out of school over the accusations.
Now police are saying the players are innocent because Yovino recanted her rape accusation after police discovered inconsistencies in her testimony. Police also found at least one witness who said he heard Yovino talking about how she wanted to have sex with the football players.
For their part, the two players admitted having sex with Yovino but always maintained it was consensual.
A police affidavit noted that Yovino admitted to lying about the rape.
“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,” the affidavit said.
Yovino could face up to five years in prison if convicted of second-degree false reporting of an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.