Man accused of fleeing country and faking his own death to avoid rape charge has been convicted of sexual assault
Nicholas Rossi, who allegedly faked his death and fled to the UK to escape charges, has been found guilty of rape and is now set to be sentenced later this year.
On August 13, Rossi, who appeared in court under the name Nicholas Alahverdian, was sentenced after a three-day trial for the sexual assault of a former girlfriend in Utah in 2008.
He has been accused of sexually assaulting two women, one in Utah and another in Salt Lake County, both of which he denied.
The 38-year-old, from Rhode Island, was found guilty of first-degree felony rape in Salt Lake County and is also awaiting trial on rape charges in connection with the assault accusation in Utah.
Advert
The woman from Salt Lake County, who was referred to as MS, said in court that she and Rossi had met online in 2008 and began dating shortly after, later becoming engaged in two weeks.
She continued to claim that Rossi became controlling, taking money from her, and criticising her appearance. At that point, she decided to end their relationship, and alleged that he then pushed her onto the bed and raped her.
According to authorities, Rossi fled to the UK in 2020, ending up in Scotland under an alias name, and faked his death to avoid criminal charges.
He married his wife, Miranda, in Bristol, and the couple moved to Glasgow, where he was caught by police in 2021 while being treated for Covid-19 in hospital.
Sky News says that the hospital staff recognised him from his tattoos that featured in images put out by Interpol. Investigators were also able to identify him through photographs after his DNA and fingerprints had been provided to Interpol.
However, Rossi insisted that he was a man named Arthur Knight from Ireland.
The BBC reports that in a bail hearing in Salt Lake City in October, he admitted that he and the alias Knight were the same person, but he denied fleeing the US to escape arrest, instead alleging that he'd left for the UK to escape threats.
Rossi was extradited from Scotland in January 2024 after his order was signed in 2023 by Scotland's justice secretary.
He is set to be sentenced in October and faces five years to life in prison.
Following the verdict’s release, attorney Sim Gill said in a statement: “We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place.
“It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable.”
Rossi's next trial in Utah is scheduled to begin next month, as prosecutors are trying the cases separately.
Gerrard Kaonga