Fugitive sex offender Nicholas Rossi accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is found guilty of sexual assault in Utah

Nicholas Rossi, a man from Rhode Island, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his former girlfriend in Utah. The jury in Salt Lake County reached a verdict after a three-day trial, where the victim and her parents testified against Rossi. Despite the opportunity to testify on his own behalf, Rossi declined to do so. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 20 for this case and is also facing another rape charge in Utah County, with a trial set for September.

Rossi made headlines when an obituary was published online stating that he had died of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma on February 29, 2020. However, doubts were raised by police in Rhode Island, his former lawyer, and a former foster family regarding the authenticity of his death. Rossi was eventually arrested in Scotland in the following year while receiving treatment for COVID-19. Hospital staff in Glasgow recognized him from an Interpol notice due to his distinctive tattoos.

After losing an extradition appeal where he claimed to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight being framed, Rossi was extradited to Utah in January 2024. The case has garnered attention for the bizarre circumstances surrounding Rossi’s alleged faking of his death and subsequent flight to Europe to avoid facing rape charges.

Despite the elaborate attempts to evade justice, Rossi now faces the consequences of his actions as he awaits sentencing for the rape conviction in Utah. The legal proceedings have shed light on a complex and troubling case that has spanned multiple jurisdictions and involved deceptive tactics to avoid accountability.