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Nikki Yovino, 19, has accepted a plea deal in Connecticut and is expected to spend up to one year behind bars after making up rape allegations against two men. Yovino initially declined a plea deal, but changed her tune this week. Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with a trial start date of Monday, June 18.
Yovino was initially charged with a felony count of evidence tampering, and falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, and faced up to five years in prison. The charges have since been downgraded to two counts of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and one count of interfering with police, both misdemeanors, which she pleaded guilty to.
On Oct. 15, 2016, Bridgeport Police responded to St. Vincent's Medical Center, where 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. According to reports, all three involved in the incident have since dropped out of Sacred Heart, and one of the football players lost a scholarship.
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 is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
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