In October 2016 Nikki Yovino, an ex-student of Sacred Heart University, falsely accused two black college football players of sexually assaulting her in a bathroom at an off campus party. Once accused, the two students lost their football scholarships and had to withdraw from the school. Word started getting around that she actually invited the boys into the bathroom with the intentions of having sex with them, so Yovino’s story stopped making sense and she recanted her original report of felony-level sexual assault, saying she never “actually” used the words “sexual assault”. Then it came to the knowledge of the police and prosecutors on the case that she cried rape to get the attention of a boy that she liked, hoping that he would feel sorry for her, and rape was “the first thing that came to mind”.
That’s not even the sickest or saddest part about this story. Yovino was arrested for filing a false report, but then filed charges AGAIN, this time with a lawyer, saying the young men “did things to her that were a sexual assault… against her will”. Months later, she said the police were making all of this up and she had nothing to do with it.
Since, Yovino was set to stand before a jury of her peers this month to determine her fate for this despicable crime. Days before the trial, Yovino changed her mind AGAIN and signed a plea deal giving her a measly three years behind bars and she only is required to serve one. Filing a false report of this severity is a felony, but her plea deal reduced her charges of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and interfering with police to misdemeanors.
This is so unfortunate for the two young men that were pursuing their dreams of playing college football and potentially joining the league. There is no word if the students will be reinstated into the school and back on the team, but this being a predominantly white institution, it is not looking that way. Their future ruined by a silly girl who years from now won’t think twice about her 12-month bid in jail.
Frank Riccio II, attorney to the two accused players, says:
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.
The accused are reportedly considering a lawsuit against Yovino.
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