Nicholas Rossi: I'm glad people see through him, victim says

One of the victims of a man who assumed a new identity and fled to Scotland to avoid rape charges in the US has said she is glad people see through him.

The woman - who wants to be known only by her first name, Mary - met Nicolas Rossi after they spoke online in 2008.

He sexually assaulted her in the basement of a stairwell as they walked to her maths class.

Rossi had claimed to be a man called Arthur Knight from Ireland when he was arrested in Scotland last year.

But a court in Edinburgh ruled on Friday morning that he was Rossi after hearing that his fingerprints and distinctive tattoos matched those of the fugitive.

Staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital recognised his tattoos while he was being treated for Covid last year.

US authorities are seeking his extradition from Scotland, and Interpol had circulated images of his tattoos and fingerprints in a red notice.

Rossi claimed to have been the victim of mistaken identity and said he had been tattooed while he was lying unconscious in hospital in an attempt to frame him.

He appeared in court in wheelchair every day during the identification hearing, and his accent changed several times while he was giving evidence.

He is now the suspect in two rape cases and a sexual assault in Utah.

Mary was contacted by the FBI after the man thought to be Nicholas Rossi was found in the Glasgow hospital.

"If I'm being honest, I hoped he was dead," she told BBC Scotland.

She said Rossi pinned her against a wall, forcefully kissed and groped her and masturbated in front of her at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.

Just before the attack, the pair had met for the first time to have lunch with friends.

"It was almost like a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kind of thing," she said.

"The impression and personality he was giving me [before the attack] - it was a very kind one."

Mary said she ran to her class, and Rossi was waiting outside for her when it ended.

"He was apologising, [saying] I'm so beautiful he couldn't help it, don't tell anybody, I'm so sorry, stuff like that.

"And I completely ignore him and go to my maths class.

"After that, the realisation of what just happened to me started to hit me.

"That's when I went to the police and filed a complaint."

Rossi was sentenced and had to register as a sex offender for 15 years. Following the trial, he twice tried to sue Mary for damaging his reputation.

Mary said she believes Rossi has been using a similar strategy during his extradition case as when he was sentenced during her trial in May 2008.

"When he was sentenced in my case, he knew it wasn't going to go his way. He knew he was already found guilty.

"He came in there with his foster dad and cane pretending to be sick and like he'd had a hard life so they would go easy on him.

"That was the start of it because now it's 'I have a wheelchair, I'm having heart attacks and seizures'."

She said she wants Rossi to face justice for his other charges.

"He is trying to fool everybody and I'm glad so many people see through it," she added.

"His eyes and that dark hair - there was just no doubt for me.

"Those hands, I remember those hands because they assaulted me. They violated me.

"I knew the FBI would not be asking me to get involved if they weren't 110% sure it was the guy."

A former member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Brian Coogan, who was once a friend of Rossi, said he knew him when he went by the alias Nicholas Alahverdian.

"He's an evil kid, he's a bad kid," he said. "I felt vindicated when they said he's alive."

He accused Rossi of conning politicians when he worked as a page in the Rhode Island State House as a teenager.

"These poor reps and senators who thought Nick was a good guy, they got egg on their face," he said.

Mr Coogan said he could identify Rossi from a scar above his right eye and distinct tattoos on his arms.

"I knew it was him," he said.

"I've known Nick 22 years, I know him better than anybody."

He said he feared Rossi could already be planning his escape, adding: "Nick's a runner."