Person under accusation of multiple rapes in Utah reveals modifying identities due to intimidation threats
During a court hearing in Provo, Nicholas Alahverdian, Nicholas Brown, and Arthur Knight, famously known as Nicholas Rossi, stated that following his relocation to Europe in 2017, he became aware in 2020 of credible threats to his life through individuals he met while working in politics in Rhode Island.
This individual had been a vocal critic of Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth and Families, testifying before state legislators about his alleged experiences of sexual abuse and torture while in foster care as a child. He suggested that the threats were linked to his efforts to overhaul the foster care system, but he refused to disclose the identities of his alleged threats.
In a humorous turn of phrase, he quipped, "I'm not going to give a rat a cheese crumb."
Temporarily secluding the courtroom to the public, Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan permitted Rossi to disclose the origins of these threats.
During the proceedings, Rossi's legal team unsuccessfully petitioned Pullan to deem Rossi non-flight risky and to decrease his bail to allow for his release from incarceration while facing prosecution. Rossi is currently charged with the 2008 rape of a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah. The rape kit associated with the case was not analyzed until 2017, due to a backlog of untested DNA kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.
Rossi pleaded not guilty to these charges during the hearing.
Additionally, Rossi is accused of raping a 26-year-old former girlfriend in Salt Lake County similarly in 2008.
Rossi was apprehended in Scotland in 2021, having been recognized at a Glasgow hospital while undergoing treatment for COVID-19. He staunchly resisted extradition to Utah for three years and had previously maintained that he was not Rossi, instead claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil and was being falsely accused.
Testifying at the hearing, Detective Derek Coates alleged that Rossi departed the U.S. for Ireland in 2017, coinciding with an investigation into the suspected fraud of the foundation he had established to support abused children in Ohio. Rossi had acquired an Irish driver's license under the alias "Nicholas Brown," but police in Ireland confirmed it to be a fabricated identification using a pilfered document, Coates reported.
Defending Rossi, his legal team argued that due to his breathing difficulties and weakened muscles, resulting from COVID-19, he required release from jail to undergo physical therapy that may restore his walking abilities.
However, Pullan justified his decision to detain Rossi by citing his history and the fact that his wife in the UK occasionally sent him money, leading him to believe that Rossi might be a flight risk despite his medical limitations. He ordered that Rossi remain confined in jail without the option to post bail.
After making his requests to the court, Rossi expressed his concerns to us about his medical condition and the possibility of not being able to attend crucial therapy sessions.In light of the evidence presented by Detective Coates, we firmly believed that our client's rights to a fair trial were being compromised due to the fabricated Irish identification.
