PA MediaA fugitive who had to be extradited from Scotland to stand trial for rape in the US while claiming he was the victim of mistaken identity told police his ex-girlfriend “raped him” after she reported he had raped her.
Nicholas Rossi is alleged to have attacked the woman at his apartment in Orem, Utah, in September 2008 after she went to retrieve money he stole from her to buy a computer.
She reported the assault to officers who later interviewed Rossi, only for him to allege she had “forcefully engaged him in sexual acts” and threatened to have him killed.
Rossi, who is appearing in court under his other name, Nicholas Alahverdian, denies all charges.
He is facing two separate charges of rape in 2008, one in Salt Lake County and one in Utah County.
The second day of a trial covering the Salt Lake County assault on a woman, known as MB, is taking place at the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County.
However it heard evidence on Tuesday from another woman, KP, who is the complainant in the Utah County case.
The woman, who was 21 at the time, said she met Rossi on social networking site MySpace in August 2008 and they began a short relationship.
She said she spent time at Rossi’s apartment in Orem, about 40 miles (66km) from Salt Lake City, and sometimes slept there during the day as she had a job working at night.
The woman said she had bought a condominium in the city and was paying the mortgage, but that they never spent time there together as she was living with her mother at the time.
She told the court on one occasion, she woke up at Rossi’s apartment to find he had spent up to $400 (£296) on a computer using her credit card details without permission.
She said when she challenged him on that, he said he would pay her back.
‘Belittling’
The relationship ended after about four weeks at the start of September 2008, which the woman put down to Rossi’s “belittling” of her and suggesting she needed “mental help”.
She said they remained in contact as friends and shortly afterwards he contacted her to say he had the money to pay her back.
The woman said she went to his apartment but Rossi quickly admitted he did not have the money.
She said he then began performing a sex act on himself and when she tried to leave, Rossi pulled her clothing down and pinned her to a couch or other piece of furniture before raping her.
The woman said she was “distraught” and the encounter lasted about a minute.
She said she was concerned Rossi had not used a condom and recalled him telling her it “wasn’t a big deal”.
The woman said she fled the apartment and drove to a friend’s house in Provo, Utah, about five miles (8km) away.
She reported the incident to police and later an officer arrived at her house to give her the money Rossi owed her.
The woman said Rossi later contacted her and suggested that she drop the charges against him as he had paid the money back.
The court also heard from Officer James Thompson, who worked at the Orem Police Department between 2008 and 2018.
He said Rossi contacted the department to make a report on 16 September 2008 and that it was assigned to him.
He recalled Rossi alleging he was “raped by his girlfriend” and she had made a report that “he had raped her”.
A voluntary witness statement given by Rossi was read out to the court.
In it, Rossi alleged the woman had, on six to eight occasions, “forced him down and kissed him regardless of him saying ‘no’.”
He also claimed the woman would force him to have sexual intercourse and “forcefully engage him into sexual acts” under the guise of “getting her money back”.
Rossi further alleged the woman would stay at his house for six to nine says at a time even though he had asked her to leave.
He claimed the woman would have “her friend” threaten him and said he would “have all his limbs ripped off and thrown into the river”.
Officer Thompson said that throughout the statement Rossi had denied sexually assaulting anyone.
Distinctive tattoos
Rossi faked his own death in 2020 and was arrested while undergoing treatment for Covid in a hospital in Glasgow in December 2021.
Staff recognised his mugshot and distinctive tattoos from an Interpol wanted notice, but Rossi claimed his name was actually Arthur Knight and that he was an Irish-born orphan who had never been to America.
He was finally extradited to the US in January 2024, more than a year after a Scottish court had ruled that he was indeed Nicholas Rossi.
Rossi is due to stand trial for the attack on KP in September.
The prosecution case has now concluded. The trial continues.
