Rhode Island Man Convicted of Rape After Faking Death
SALT LAKE CITY — Nicholas Rossi, a 38-year-old man originally from Rhode Island, was found guilty Wednesday of raping a former girlfriend in a 2008 incident. The conviction came after a three-day trial in Salt Lake County, where the victim bravely testified along with her parents, despite the trauma she faced.
Rossi is set to be sentenced on October 20, facing a potential sentence of five years to life in prison for first-degree felony rape, as outlined by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. Gill praised the survivor’s courage in coming forward years after the attack and emphasized the importance of her testimony in seeking justice.
Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, had previously been identified as a suspect through a DNA test from a backlog of cases in Utah. In a twist, he had initially claimed to have died in 2020, but was apprehended in Scotland in 2021 after hospital staff recognized him. Rossi is also accused of another rape case in Utah County, set for trial next month, where he allegedly attacked a second former girlfriend.
With a history of evading capture using multiple aliases, Rossi’s case highlights the persistence of survivors seeking justice despite significant barriers.
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