A co-ed has been charged after she told authorities she made up a rape allegation against two football players that resulted in the young men losing their scholarships and being thrown out of school.
Nikki Yovino, 18, told police she made up the claim because she thought it would gain sympathy from a prospective boyfriend, according to the Connecticut Post, which cited police reports.
Yovino was charged with second-degree false reporting of an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. The Post reported that the tampering charge if a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. She's free on $150,000 bond, and her next court hearing is scheduled for March 3.
Yovino told police that two Sacred Heart (Ct.) University players sexually assaulted her at a football party last October. The players, however, said the sex was consensual. Both players were stripped of their scholarships and withdrew from the university just prior to a disciplinary hearing, the post reported.
Authorities, noting inconsistencies in her story, questioned Yovino again, and she eventually admitted she made up the rape allegations, the Post reported.
The Post did not name the players, but it said one player has been allowed to re-enroll in school, but doesn't have a scholarship and isn't a member of the football team any longer.
Yovino's lawyer told the Post that his client stands by her original story.
