Fugitive rape suspect who allegedly faked his death and fled to Scotland faces extradition back to US

A man who claims to be an Irish orphan from Dublin but who is believed to be a native of Rhode Island and who is wanted in connection with a rape case in Utah now faces extradition from Scotland to the United States.

A Scottish defendant who appeared virtually before Sheriff Norman McFadyen of the Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday claimed to be Arthur Knight, an orphan born in Dublin who spent his formative years in London. However, last November, a Scottish court ruled that he was actually Nicholas Rossi, a 36-year-old convicted sex offender who was wanted for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008.

And Nicholas Rossi was actually born Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987. During his childhood, he spent many years in child welfare facilities associated with the state's Department of Children, Youth and Families. Because of abuse he allegedly suffered while in the system, he later became a high-profile advocate for department reform and was known to many Rhode Island politicians.

Alahverdian was later adopted by his stepfather, David Rossi, and assumed Rossi's last name. He then attended Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, where he was accused and convicted of sexual imposition and public indecency in 2008. He was forced to register as a sex offender as a result.

In 2019, he announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. An obituary announcing the passing of "Nicholas Alahverdian" was then released in February 2020, and according to the obituary, several Rhode Island politicians paid tribute to the man they believed had fought for child welfare reform.

However, in December 2021, less than two years after the supposed death of Alahverdian, the DNA of a man who had been admitted to a hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, with a severe case of COVID, a man who claimed to be Arthur Knight, matched the DNA of Nicholas Rossi, who was still wanted for an alleged rape in Utah. When hospital staff saw a picture of Rossi, they recognized him immediately as Knight. Knight also had tattoos that matched Rossi's tattoos. Knight, aka Rossi, was subsequently arrested and taken into custody in a Scottish jail.

Knight, who is married and recently converted to Judaism, still insists that he has been wrongfully accused, that he is not Rossi, and that he has never been to the United States. When asked about the tattoos he has that seem to match Rossi's, Knight alleged that authorities applied those tattoos while he was unconscious with COVID at the Glasgow hospital.

He has also claimed to suffer from severe disabilities and uses a wheelchair, even though a physician at the jail testified in court that his legs are "athletic" and that he does not suffer from any physical or mental condition that would require a wheelchair.

A Scottish court later legally determined that Knight is Rossi, leading to a series of hearings to consider whether he will be extradited to the U.S. to face prosecution for the 2008 rape in Utah. On Wednesday, Sheriff McFadyen ruled that there were no legal barriers to extradition.

"I conclude that [Rossi] is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative," McFadyen said. "These unfortunate facets of his character have undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case."

Scottish ministers will now have 28 days to decide whether Rossi will, indeed, be extradited. According to Sky News, the Scottish justice secretary will likely "rubber-stamp the move."

In a recent interview, Knight asked the "real" rapist to come forward to "save my wife and me from this mess." Knight, aka Rossi, is also wanted for questioning in connection with a cold rape case in England.

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