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Jury Selection Begins in Second Utah Rape Trial of Nicholas Alahverdian

The proceeding follows a separate 2008 rape conviction last month, with sentencing set for October 20.

Overview

  • Prospective jurors were called Monday in Utah County for a trial over an alleged Sept. 13, 2008 assault of an ex‑girlfriend in Orem.
  • Nicholas Alahverdian, also known as Nicholas Rossi, has pleaded not guilty in the Utah County case.
  • A Salt Lake County jury found him guilty in August in a separate December 2008 rape, and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 20.
  • Investigators say the Utah County accuser’s sexual assault kit was tested years later, and a backlog delayed identifying Alahverdian for about a decade.
  • Authorities say he was the subject of a 2020 online obituary, later located in a Glasgow hospital using the name Arthur Knight, and extradited to the U.S. in January 2024.