UTAH (ABC4) – A man has been arrested in Scotland after officials tracked him down for a Utah sexual assault case in 2008.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office worked with the Utah Department of Public Safety — State Bureau of Investigation’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative unit to establish an initiative dedicated to reviewing old sexual assault cases where original sexual assault kits were not administered.
The suspect, Nicholas Rossi was tracked all the way to Scotland, where he was living under a different name. Authorities say Rossi fled the country, aiming to convince authorities he was dead.
An original assault kit was submitted for testing in 2017 and DNA matching was finalized in 2018, linking the DNA to a sexual assault case in Ohio. Investigators also discovered Rossi was linked to a string of similar offenses throughout Utah and the U.S. since the 2008 incident.
Officials were able to track down and take Rossi into custody. Extradition is being coordinated by the Utah County Attorney’s Office with federal and international agencies.
“Our office is grateful for the significant interagency collaboration of law enforcement to bring this suspect to justice,” said Utah County Attorney, David Leavitt. “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.”
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Rossi is encouraged to contact agents with the State Bureau of Investigation at (801) 965-4747 or the Utah County Attorney’s Office at (801) 851-8026.
