Nicholas Rossi Sentenced 5 Years to Life

Nicholas Rossi, who also goes by Nicholas Alahverdian and aliases including "Arthur Knight," was sentenced Monday in Salt Lake County to no less than five years and up to life in prison for a 2008 Salt Lake County rape conviction. He was also convicted in a separate 2008 Utah County rape and is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 4. Rossi was identified through testing of a long‑backlogged 2018 DNA rape kit, was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after hospital staff recognized distinctive tattoos, and was extradited to Utah in January 2024 after allegedly fleeing, using multiple aliases and faking his death with a 2020 online obituary. At sentencing, victims delivered impact statements describing long‑term trauma, fear and manipulation, while Rossi maintained his innocence and prosecutors said he posed a continuing public‑safety risk. Utah’s indeterminate sentence leaves Rossi’s actual release date to the Board of Pardons and Parole, and authorities say he faces additional charges in other jurisdictions, including alleged fraud in Ohio.