Months after a man was arrested in Scotland on Utah County sexual assault charges after authorities say he faked his own death in the U.S. and assumed a new identity, the 35-year-old has been charged in a 2008 Salt Lake County sexual assault case.
The suspect, Nicholas Edward Rossi, is now accused of raping a 26-year-old woman in South Salt Lake in 2008. In September 2021, Rossi was charged in the rape of a 21-year-old woman in Orem in 2008. Authorities arrested him in December at a Scotland medical center where he was hospitalized.
In the latest case, court documents state that Rossi and the then-26-year-old alleged Salt Lake County victim met online and dated between November and December 2008. The woman told police that Rossi was emotionally and verbally abusive, manipulative, and would convince her to loan him money that he did not repay.
In December 2008, the two got into an argument at a mall, which ended with the woman getting into her car and locking the doors. The woman alleged that Rossi “stood outside the car screaming” at her and hitting the car. The woman eventually let Rossi inside the vehicle and drove him to his residence in South Salt Lake.
When the two arrived at Rossi’s home, he shut them both inside his bedroom and would not allow her to leave. The woman told police that they argued about breaking up before Rossi assaulted her.
An agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation found that Rossi had been previously involved in cases of sexual assault, harassment, and possible kidnapping in three other states — and that in each case, he reportedly exhibited a similar pattern of behavior.
The Salt Lake County Attorney’s office is currently working to extradite Rossi from Scotland, with assistance from the Utah County Attorney and the U.S. Attorney, according to a news release.
Rossi, who is known by the name Arthur Knight in Scotland, and has allegedly assumed several other identities, was granted bail from the Edinburgh Sheriff Appeal Court on Feb. 4.
He was recently arrested on July 5 at a Glasgow hospital under suspicion of obstructing the course of justice and threatening or abusive behavior.
