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Jury Selection Set For False Rape Case Trial Involving Area College Student

Nikki Yovino

Nikki Yovino

Photo Credit: Bridgeport Police Department

Jury selection is scheduled for the trial of the former Sacred Heart University student charged with making up a story that she was raped by two football players.

On Oct. 15, 2016, Bridgeport Police responded to St. Vincent's Medical Center, where Nikki Yovino of South Setauket on Long Island told police that she had been sexually assaulted by two males in a bathroom at a house party in Bridgeport.

She told police that one of her assailants was a fellow student and football player at SHU, while the other was a former SHU student.

But during their investigation police said they discovered evidence that contradicted Yovino's statements. When Yovino was confronted with this information, police said she admitted to making up the accusations and said she had had consensual sex with both males.

Yovino, who declined a plea deal, is facing a felony charge of evidence tampering as well as a misdemeanor charge of falsely reporting an incident.

Yovino's attorneys are expected to argue she was pressured into making the confession. She had previously admitted making up the story to gain sympathy from a prospective boyfriend, police said.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday, June 5 in Bridgeport Superior Court in Connecticut. Testimony in the trial is expected to start Monday, June 18.

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