PROVO, Utah — The Utah County Attorney's Office confirmed Monday that rape fugitive Nicholas Rossi, who allegedly faked his own death to avoid charges and was arrested in Scotland, is back in the Beehive State.
Officials told FOX 13 News that while an initial court date still has to be set, Rossi was extradited to Utah from Scotland and prosecution will move forward.
Rossi has also not been transported to the Utah County Jail yet, officials told FOX 13 News. Further details on where Rossi was transported were not made available.
"The Utah County Attorney’s Office acknowledges the tremendous efforts from the Department of Justice, United States Marshall’s Office, the Scottish authorities and many others to return Mr. Rossi back to the United States," officials stated in a release. "Mr. Rossi is presumed innocent and will receive all of the due process rights that defendants are entitled to."
Rossi's extradition to Utah comes years after he was charged with first-degree felony rape. He is accused of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem in 2008 after a sexual assault kit was tested.
Rossi, from Rhode Island, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, told the media he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which was followed by an obituary claiming his death in February 2020.
The Utah County Attorney's Office filed charges related to the rape case in September 2020.
In 2021, Rossi was arrested in Scotland after he was recognized at a hospital while being treated for COVID-19. Since his arrest, Rossi has claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never been to America.
After a battle in a Scottish court, a judge ruled Rossi to be a "dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative," and ordered he could be extradited to the U.S.
