Nicholas Rossi faces trial in Utah for sex crimes

A man accused of faking his own death to avoid a court date and posing as an Irish orphan to avoid extradition from Scotland will stand trial in Utah, a judge ruled.

Nicholas Rossi (37) was finally extradited from Britain to the US in January after a lengthy trial in Scottish courts. He fought the case for more than two years, claiming to be an Irish orphan. He insists he was the victim of mistaken identity and has insisted all along that he is Irishman Arthur Knight.

An obituary published online states that Rossi died of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma on February 29, 2020.

District Judge Barry Lawrence ruled during Rossi's preliminary hearing in Utah that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial, KTVX-TV reported.

Prosecutors allege that Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old ex-girlfriend in Utah in 2008.

In another case, he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year. According to the Associated Press, he was not identified as a suspect for about a decade because of a backlog of DNA testing at the Utah State Crime Lab.

Utah County court records show Rossi also faces charges of sexual abuse, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts, KTVX-TV reported.

Rossi is scheduled to appear in court on October 17 for an arraignment and bail hearing.