College Student Who Accused Football Players with Rape Now Charged with Lying

2-23-17 Connecticut:

A student at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University is now on the other side of accusations of wrongdoing after police charged her with filing a false report of rape against two college football players.

In 2016, student Nikki Yovino, 18, told police in Bridgeport, Connecticut, that she was raped in the bathroom of a house where a party was raging. Afterward, Yovino accused two members of the school’s football team of repeatedly raping her that night, the Connecticut Post reported.

In short order, both football players were removed from the team, lost their scholarships, and were kicked out of school over the accusations.

Now police are saying the players are innocent because Yovino recanted her rape accusation after police discovered inconsistencies in her testimony. Police also found at least one witness who said he heard Yovino talking about how she wanted to have sex with the football players.

Firm offers to raze Newtown shooter's home for free

2-18-15 Connecticut:

NEWTOWN -- A construction company with ties to Newtown has offered to demolish Adam Lanza's home at no cost, First Selectwoman Pat Llodra announced Tuesday.

Representatives from Plainville-based Manafort Brothers are expected to meet with town officials this week to discuss the details and possibly set a demolition date for the 36 Yogananda St. property, the home where Lanza lived with his mother before he took her life and killed 20 students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Llodra said several Manafort employees live in Newtown, which helped encourage the company to make the offer.

Prior to Manafort's proposal, the town was planning to pay about $30,000 for demolition with money from a special insurance fund dedicated to costs associated with the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting. The fund was used in the demolition of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in late 2013.

Representatives of Manafort could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Llodra's announcement came minutes after residents at a special town meeting voted 6-0 to authorize the Board of Selectmen to proceed with the demolition plan.

Police: Teen fabricated rape claim

10-22-2013 Connecticut:

Woman could face charges of filing false police report.

Authorities could charge an 18-year-old Huron County woman with filing a false police report after investigators determined she made up a story that she was raped.

County authorities had been investigating the alleged rape of the 18-year-old female by an 18-year-old male within the last two weeks.

Huron County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ted Patrick has said the two were living in the same foster home at one point. He added during initial interviews it wasn't "clear cut exactly what did take place."

On Saturday, Detective Bill Duncan and Sgt. Steve Shupp re-interviewed the alleged victim, who admitted she lied when she said she was raped. It turned out the sexual activity was consensual as the alleged suspect had said, Patrick said.

"Now it's a matter of whether she's going to get charged for fabricating that story," Patrick said. He added authorities will send information to the Norwalk Law Director's office for the consideration of charges.

Patrick commended Duncan and Shupp for uncovering the truth.

"They did a phenomenal job," he said, adding they used different interview techniques to before the female teenager admitted she fabricated the story about a rape.

"Her story wasn't adding up," Patrick said. ..Source.. by Aaron Krause

Sex Offenders at the Polls

2-14-2014 Connecticut:

They have every right to be there in Connecticut once they have served their sentences. But some voting districts have raised concerns.

A state elections panel is investigating an incident that raises questions about the fine line between personal rights and public safety. Larry Johnson says he was so intimidated this past fall, that the Norwalk man left his polling place without exercising his right to vote…all because of his criminal past. He spoke with NBC Troubleshooters’ Chief Investigative Reporter Len Besthoff.

“I feel like they violated my rights, my voting rights.” You can sense the anger in Larry Johnson’s voice as he describes what happened last September during a Democratic primary vote in Norwalk. “I felt intimidated. I felt like I was being stuck out, it was very humiliating, very embarrassing”

Johnson is a registered sex offender. He was released from prison a decade ago, after serving five years for a sexual assault conviction involving a woman he knew. He turned down an offer to have the case dropped and charges erased after 13 months. He chose to go to trial.. and lost.

Montville ends legal fight against sex-offender treatment site

Montville Sex Offender Treatment Facility Agreement

8-2-2011 Connecticut:

Council votes 5-1 to end lawsuit against state filed to prevent construction

Montville - The fight is over.

The Town Council on Monday night voted 5-1 to end a lawsuit against the state that was aimed at halting construction of a residential sex-offender treatment facility planned for the grounds of the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center.

The council approved a draft of an agreement with the state Department of Correction that details safety guidelines for the sex-offender facility. The two parties have spent several weeks working on the agreement, which will now go to the attorney general's office for final approval.

Monday's vote essentially ended a dispute that has lasted the better part of two years and has cost the town approximately $91,000 in legal fees, Mayor Joseph Jaskiewicz said.

Town councilors did not comment on the draft per the advice of Michael P. Carey, the attorney representing the town. Jaskiewicz said a meeting could be held next week to make the details of the agreement public.

Town Councilor Ellen Hillman was the lone opposing vote.

The town has made several efforts to halt construction of the facility. It recently pursued an appeal after a judge ruled against the town in an initial lawsuit. Legislators also unsuccessfully proposed legislation that would have forced the state to change the process it used in selecting Montville as the site for the facility.

The 24-bed sex-offender facility will be operated by Middletown-based The Connection Inc. In a meeting earlier this year with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's chief of staff Tim Bannon and DOC Commissioner Leo C. Arnone, Jaskiewicz and town councilors were assured of the safety measures the state intends to adhere to.

For instance, Arnone said the facility would not house "the worst" offenders, but rather offenders on probation "with a chance to correct their future behavior." Offenders would enter a program for three to six months.

Arnone also said at the time that offenders would not be allowed to enter the Montville community except in the case of a medical emergency. They would be under constant supervision by a minimum of three staff members, tested for drugs and alcohol and returned to their communities of origin once they completed the program.

Councilor Gary Murphy abstained from Monday's vote citing his employment with the DOC. ..Source.. by Jeffrey A. Johnson