Advertisement

Woman sentenced to prison time after false rape claim

A US woman has been sentenced to prison after making false rape claims.

The woman, who police say had a sexual encounter with two college football players in Connecticut and later made false rape allegations so she wouldn’t lose a potential boyfriend was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail.

She agreed to serve the jail time when she pleaded guilty in June, just before jury selection was to begin, to misdemeanour charges of falsely reporting an incident and interfering with police.

Ms Yovino was attending Sacred Heart University in Fairfield when she reported being raped by two school football players at an off-campus party in Bridgeport in October 2016.

But police said she later admitted making up the allegations so she wouldn’t ruin a relationship with another student.

Nikki Yovino, 20, of South Setauket, New York, was sentenced to prison in Bridgeport Superior Court after pleading guilty to making false rape accusations. Source: AP
Nikki Yovino, 20, of South Setauket, New York, was sentenced to prison in Bridgeport Superior Court after pleading guilty to making false rape accusations. Source: AP

Yovino’s lawyers had said police pressured her into making a false confession. Attorney Ryan O’Neill previously said she told police the football players had sex with her against her will, but never used the terms rape or sexual assault.

The football players were never arrested, but both withdrew from the school while facing possible discipline.

One of them also lost his football scholarship, according to the players’ lawyer, Frank Riccio III. Both said they had consensual sex with Yovino.

Both players remained unidentified until Thursday, when Malik St. Hilaire came forward to speak at the sentencing and confront Yovino. The Connecticut Post reported Yovino rolled her eyes and smirked as Mr St. Hilaire talked about how the allegations affected his life.

“I went from being a college student to sitting at home being expelled with no way to clear my name,” Mr St. Hilaire said.

Nikki Yovino was sentenced to a year in prison after falsely claiming that she was raped by two football players
Ms Yovino was sentenced to a year in prison after falsely claiming that she was raped by two football players. Source: AP

“I just hope she knows what she has done to me, my life will never be the same. I did nothing wrong, but everything has been altered because of this.”

Mr Riccio also read a statement from the second player, who remains unidentified.

The player wrote that the past two years have been the most difficult of his life and he suffered depression, anxiety, and embarrassment while losing his football scholarship. He said he is now saddled with $30,000 of debt.

Both players are considering suing Ms Yovino in civil court.

Judge William Holden said he hoped that Ms Yovino would spend her jail time contemplating her actions.

Prosecutor Tatiana Messina said Ms Yovino’s crimes were a “disservice” to true sexual assault victims, who often are not believed.

– With AP