Ex-FOOTBALL Players Sue Nikki Yovino & Sacred Heart University Over Fake Rape Claim
Two former college football players falsely accused of rape by a fellow student are now suing her and the university which suspended them. Dhameer Bradley and Malik St. Hilaire filed a lawsuit against Nikki Yovino. The lawsuit’s allegations against Yovino include slander and infliction of emotional distress. They also accused the school of wrongly suspending them. Bradley and St. Hilaire said they and Yovino had consensual sex at an off-campus party. But, police said she later admitted making up the allegations so she wouldn’t ruin a relationship with a potential boyfriend. Yovino was sentenced in August to a year in prison after pleading guilty to falsely reporting an incident and interfering with police. The football players were never arrested, but both withdrew from the school while facing possible discipline. At her sentencing hearing, Yovino made headlines after it appeared that she had rolled her eyes and smirked while St. Hilaire read his victim impact statement in the courtroom. ‘I went from being a college student to sitting at home being expelled with no way to clear my name,’ St. Hilaire said. ‘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.’
