A convicted rapist, Nicholas Rossi, who allegedly staged his death and fled the United States to evade authorities, has been sentenced to five years in jail. Rossi, 38, had denied the charges against him for 17 years, even claiming that the victims were lying. He was apprehended in Scotland after being on the run for 13 years, with an online obituary falsely reporting his death from cancer prior to his capture.
District Judge Barry Lawrence, presiding in Salt Lake City, Utah, described Rossi’s actions as leaving behind a “trail of fear, pain, and destruction” following the assaults in 2008. One survivor emphasized in court the need for accountability and recognition of the lasting damage caused by Rossi’s crimes.
Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Brandon Simmons highlighted Rossi’s pattern of using rape to control women and the danger he posed to the community. Despite the opportunity to testify in his defense, Rossi maintained his innocence, stating, “I am not guilty of this. These women are lying.”
Rossi, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian, was found guilty of one of the rapes and is awaiting sentencing for the second incident that occurred in 2008. Utah authorities began pursuing Rossi in 2018 after connecting him to a decade-old DNA rape kit. Rossi was among numerous suspects identified and prosecuted as part of Utah’s efforts to clear its backlog of rape kits.
After being arrested in Scotland while receiving medical treatment for Covid-19, Rossi was extradited to Utah in January 2024. Despite claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight, Rossi was identified to have used multiple aliases over the years to evade capture. In his trial, Rossi’s defense team argued against the rape allegations and downplayed his international relocation, but he was ultimately convicted for the rape charge leading to his recent sentencing.
