DPS NEWS

Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Leads to Arrest of Suspect Hiding in Scotland

Subject: Nicholas Rossi, Aliases: Nicholas Alahverdian, Nicholas Alahverdian Rossi, Nicholas Edward Rossi, Nicholas Alahverdian-Rossi, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown, Arthur Brown, Arthur Knight

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In 2020, the Utah County Attorney’s Office worked in coordination with the Utah Department of Public Safety — State Bureau of Investigation’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative unit to establish a multi-disciplinary team to review old sexual assault cases where the original sexual assault kits had not been tested.

One of the cases involved a 2008 sexual assault where the suspect was Nicholas Rossi.  

The case was closed by the lead detective without referring the case to the Utah County Attorney’s Office for screening. 

In 2017, as part of the Sex Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) the original sexual assault kit was submitted for testing, and in 2018 the DNA profile from the Utah sexual assault came back as a match to a sexual assault case in Ohio. The suspect, in that case, was Nicholas Rossi.  

Agents with the Utah Department of Public Safety worked with the original investigating agency and the Utah County Attorney’s Office to locate the victim and based on the evidence and the victim’s willingness to move forward with prosecution, charges were filed. 

Investigators also learned that Nicholas Rossi had fled the country to avoid prosecution in Ohio and attempted to lead investigators and state legislators in other states to believe that he was deceased. 

Through the diligent efforts of SBI Agents, and various investigators in other states and agencies, and in cooperation with the Utah County Attorney’s Office, Mr. Rossi was discovered to be living under an assumed name in Scotland.  

He has been taken into custody and the Utah County Attorney’s Office is working with federal and international agencies to extradite Mr. Rossi back to Utah. 

“Our office is grateful for the significant interagency collaboration of law enforcement to bring this suspect to justice. We credit Utah’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant funded through the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance as playing a significant role in testing backlogged kits and ultimately identifying the suspect,” said Utah County Attorney, David Leavitt.

Throughout this investigation, SBI Agents discovered that Nicholas Rossi was a suspect in a number of similar offenses in Utah and throughout the United States after the 2008 incident.

Any person who may be a victim of a crime by Mr. Rossi is encouraged to reach out to SAKI Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, or the Utah County Attorney’s Office.

State Bureau of Investigation Contact: (801) 965-4747

Utah County Attorney’s Office Contact: (801) 851-8026

Persons accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.