Nicholas Rossi: Fugitive who fled to Scotland sentenced after being found guilty of rape

An American man who faked his death and fled to Scotland has been sentenced after being found guilty of rape.

Nicholas Rossi has been sentenced to five years to life in prison after he was convicted of raping a woman he was previously engaged to in 2008.

Rossi was arrested in December 2021 while a Covid patient in a Glasgow hospital. Staff identified his distinctive tattoos from an interpol wanted notice.

Rossi repeatedly insisted he was the victim of mistaken identity and said he was an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight.

After lengthy extradition proceedings in Edinburgh, Rossi was sent back to the United States in January 2024.

Last October in a Utah court he finally admitted his name was Nicholas Rossi and claim he had hidden his identity to escape “death threats”.

During the trial, which began in August, the jury heard how Rossi had met his victim online and became engaged two weeks later.

The woman told the court she was living with her parents, recovering from a car accident which had left her with a traumatic brain injury, when she met Rossi online.

She described Rossi as “very charming” but claimed he became controlling and was “constantly borrowing money” from her.

“He started to become very controlling and dictated how I dressed,” she said.

She recalled trying to end the relationship and claimed Rossi flew into a rage that forced her to lock herself in her car.

“It was the first time I’d ever seen rage in his eyes. I don’t remember what he was yelling. He was hitting the car. I was just sitting there, hoping he would stop,” she said.

She told the court that it was the middle of winter, so she agreed to drive him home.

She recalled how he pretended he had called the police en route and kept her in the car for an hour waiting for officers to arrive before they went into his apartment.

The woman started to cry as she described how, once inside, he raped her.

She said: “I was numb and scared. I didn’t know what else he was capable of.“

The woman contacted the district attorney’s office 13 years following the attack, after seeing an article online about a case in Utah County involving Rossi.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of first-degree felony rape against the defendant on July 13, 2022.

On August 13, 2025, a Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of one count of first-degree felony rape.

“While justice may have been slow, the defendant was convicted and now sentenced to prison, consistent with the harm he caused to our survivor. She can rest assured he did not escape punishment,” said Salt Lake County district attorney Sim Gill.

“We thank our prosecutors, Brandon Simmons and Clint Heiner, as well as our victim advocate Cami Heng, for their years of dedication to this case and helping deliver justice for the survivor in this case. We appreciate the work of both our local, national, and international partners that worked together to ensure the defendant could be held accountable for his actions.”

Last month, Rossi was also convicted of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in September 2008.

He is due to be setenced on November 4, 2025.