Jury finds Nicholas Rossi guilty of rape
Aug 13, 2025, 10:51 PM | Updated: 11:01 pm
Nicholas Rossi listens during the first day of his rape trial at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Court pool)
(Court pool)
SALT LAKE CITY — A jury found Nicholas Rossi guilty of rape on Wednesday after a three-day trial.
Rossi, 38, also known as Nicholas Alahverdian, was accused of raping a woman at his home in Salt Lake County in late 2008. Rossi, who is originally from Rhode Island, had been extradited from Scotland to Utah after authorities said he faked his own death to avoid being prosecuted.
After deliberating, the jury returned the guilty verdict late Wednesday evening at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. Rossi will be sentenced Oct. 20.
“We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill in a statement. “We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable.”
Nicholas Rossi listens during the first day of his rape trial at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, August 11, 2025. (Court pool)
The trial, which began Monday, included testimony from the woman who said Rossi raped her in December 2008 in South Salt Lake after they had a fight and she wanted to end their relationship.
This is not Rossi’s only legal problem. He also faces a charge of rape in Utah County. A trial there is set to begin next month.
Rossi’s legal saga began years ago when he was first identified in the Utah County case through a DNA rape kit in 2018, and he was charged in 2020. An online obituary that same year claimed he had died of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to NBC News.
Authorities later arrested Rossi in 2022 while he was being treated for COVID-19 in a hospital in the United Kingdom, KSL.com reported, although Rossi insisted his name was Arthur Knight and that he had never been to Utah.
Rossi, who has reportedly used multiple aliases over the years, was eventually positively identified. He was extradited to the United States in January 2024.
Related: Plea deal withdrawn for Nicholas Rossi who faces two rape charges
