American rapist who faked his own death to avoid charges attacks victims in sick courtroom outburst

An American man who faked his own death and fled to Scotland under a false identity to avoid jail has been sentenced to two prison terms for rape. 

Nicholas Rossi, 38, a Rhode Island native, was convicted this year of raping two women in Utah in 2008 following two trials and was sentenced last month to at least five years behind bars. 

On Tuesday, a Utah County judge hit him with an additional sentence of five years to life, to be served consecutively, according to KSL News.

Rossi, legally Nicholas Alahverdian, was identified as the women’s attacker in 2018 after a decade-old DNA rape kit was tested. In 2020, an online obituary claimed he had died of cancer, but he had actually been living in England, having fled the US sometime earlier.

He eventually ended up in Scotland, where he lived under the radar until December 2021 when hospital staff recognized his tattoos and reported him to authorities.   

Both women attended Rossi sentencing hearings, and on Tuesday, they took the stand to describe how fearful they had been of him.

'Nicholas Rossi is not a man who simply made a mistake,' his Utah County victim told the court. 'His behavior reflects a deeper pattern, one of manipulation, deceit and narcissism.'

She spoke about her lasting anxiety and trust issues since the assault and declared that Rossi is beyond rehabilitation and should be permanently removed from society. 

'I knew I needed to come forward not for myself but for the sheer number of victims he has hurt and the threat he continues to pose to society,' she said, according to the outlet. 'Justice in this case is not just about punishing one act, it's about stopping a pattern.'

The Salt Lake victim described the assault as life-devastating and said her 'mind, body, family and future were torn apart in a single catastrophic moment.'

'It stole who I was. I used to be open, trusting and joyful. I now mistrust instinctively,' she told the court. 'The path I expected to follow, the person I've wanted to be, was erased.'

Even after his convictions, Rossi declared his innocence during Tuesday’s sentencing, starting his remarks with a quote from conservative writer George F. Will.

'Victimhood is the new status symbol. Everyone needs to be a victim,' the convicted rapist told the court.

Rossi then went on to speak for himself: 'I don't have a lengthy statement full of flowery language and hyperbole. These women are lying and what they have done is unjust, unkind and not plausible in the eyes of the law.'  

Moments before sentencing, Judge Derek Pullan turned Rossi’s own statements against him, stressing that he had 'forcefully raped' his victims. 

'Mr. Rossi, if victimhood is the new status symbol, then it was a status that you falsely claimed for yourself in an effort to avoid conviction,' Pullan said, according to KSL.

'It is a status rightfully claimed by [the victim] and many others, not by choice, but because you forcefully raped her,' he added.

Daniel Diaz, Rossi's attorney, told the court that that his Utah sentence should run at the same time as the Salt Lake sentence, highlighting Rossi’s long time behind bars and serious health complications.

The lawyer argued that if the sentences are to be served consecutively, Rossi should receive credit for the nearly 42 months he has already spent in custody.

Prosecutors, however, requested that Rossi serve his sentences one after the other, saying any credit for time served should start with his Utah incarceration, as his time in Scotland was 'his own making.'

'He is a very smart man and he is able to talk his way out of almost anything and for 18 years, he did,' prosecutor Stephen Jones said, according to the outlet.

'Finally in Salt Lake he was held accountable,' he added. 'And this court was here, just a few months ago when he was held accountable again.'

The judge recognized Rossi’s 'very abusive' upbringing but stressed that he still 'accepts absolutely no responsibility' for his disturbing actions. 

Judge Pullan ultimately ordered Rossi’s sentence to run consecutively with his Salt Lake County term, recommending credit for the 663 days he has already served in Utah. 

'Rossi sought to thwart the truth seeking function of the courts by misrepresenting his identity during extradition,' Pullan said, according to KSL.

'The jury heard evidence, it found facts and ascertained the truth about your criminal conduct,' he added.

Rossi revealed that he plans to appeal the sentence, including in Salt Lake County.