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Faked Death and Fugitive, Nicholas Rossi, Sentenced in Utah Rape Case
SALT LAKE CITY – Nicholas Rossi, the Rhode Island man whose elaborate scheme to fake his own death and flee the country made headlines, has been sentenced to prison for one of two rape convictions in Utah. District Judge Barry Lawrence handed down a five-year prison sentence on Monday, as reported by CBS affiliate KUTV.
Rossi, 38, faced the court as his victim delivered a powerful impact statement, describing the “trail of fear, pain and destruction” he left behind. “This is not a plea for vengeance. This is a plea for safety and accountability, for recognition of the damage that will never fully heal,” she told the court.
Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Brandon Simmons emphasized Rossi’s danger to the community, stating that he “uses rape to control women.”
This marks the first of two sentencing hearings for Rossi, who was separately convicted in August and September for raping two women in northern Utah in 2008. He is scheduled for a second sentencing on November 4, where he also faces a potential five years to life in prison.
During his August trial, jurors found Rossi guilty of rape after a three-day proceeding that included testimony from his accuser and her parents. Rossi chose not to testify on his own behalf.
Given the opportunity to speak before Monday’s sentencing, Rossi maintained his innocence, softly stating with a raspy voice, “I am not guilty of this. These women are lying.”
The path to conviction spanned over a decade. Utah authorities began their search for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, in 2018 after a decade-old DNA rape kit from the other case identified him. This identification was part of a broader effort by Utah to clear its backlog of untested rape kits, leading to charges against thousands of suspects.
Months after charges were filed, an online obituary claimed Rossi had died on February 29, 2020, from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, police in Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, expressed significant doubt regarding his death.
His attempt to evade justice ultimately unraveled when he was arrested in Scotland the following year while undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Hospital staff recognized his distinctive tattoos, including the crest of Brown University – despite his never attending the institution – from an Interpol notice.
After a prolonged legal battle, Rossi was extradited to Utah in January 2024. Throughout this process, he stubbornly insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and a victim of a frame-up. Investigators, however, identified at least a dozen aliases he had used over the years in his efforts to avoid capture.
In his first Utah trial, Rossi’s public defender denied the rape accusation and urged jurors not to infer guilt from his move overseas.
The victim in the recent sentencing testified that in 2008, while recovering from a traumatic brain injury and living with her parents, she responded to a Craigslist personal ad placed by Rossi. They began dating and were engaged within weeks.
She recounted how Rossi asked her to pay for dates, car repairs, lend him $1,000 to prevent eviction, and take on debt for their engagement rings. After their engagement, she said he became hostile and raped her in his bedroom one night after she drove him home.
She reported the incident to police years later after learning Rossi was accused of raping another woman in Utah around the same time.
The victim in the second case reported her attack to police soon after Rossi assaulted her at his Orem apartment. She had gone there to retrieve money she claimed he stole to buy a computer.
Rossi, who grew up in Rhode Island foster homes, returned to his home state before his apparent death hoax and subsequent flight. He was already wanted in Rhode Island for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI also reports that he faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.