Nicholas Rossi: Rape suspect needed within the US fails to attend newest extradition listening to after ‘altercation’, court docket hears

A rape suspect needed within the US has didn’t attend his extradition listening to after an “altercation”, a court docket has heard.

Nicholas Rossi was attributable to seem within the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court as a part of a long-running battle to extradite him over alleged intercourse offences, launched by authorities within the state of Utah.

His absence in court docket was defined by his solicitor, Stuart Murray, who informed Sheriff Norman McFayden that there “appeared to be some difficulty downstairs”.

Advocate Depute, Paul Harvey, stated there had been an “altercation”, whereas Mr Murray stated the defendant denied refusing to return to court docket.

Rossi, who’s accused of faking his personal dying in 2020, has claimed he’s an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight, and never a US citizen.

But final November, after months of hearings, Sheriff McFayden dominated he was the person American authorities have been in search of in reference to rape and sexual assault prices.

Sheriff McFayden stated it was his understanding that workers weren’t ready to take Rossi to court docket following Thursday’s alleged altercation.

Defence legal professionals are nonetheless ready for reviews on Rossi’s psychiatric and bodily well being.

They are additionally awaiting additional reviews on human rights in US prisons and services in Utah – to the place Rossi can be flown to if the extradition request is profitable.

Mr Harvey stated prosecutors wanted adequate time to evaluate the reviews, which had been instructed earlier this yr.

He insisted the proposed date for the complete extradition, on 26 June, “cannot change”.

“I say all that against a background of delay, obstructionism, and denial about this requested person,” Mr Harvey informed the court docket.

“These proceedings, the obstructionism and denial, have gone on simply too long.”

Sheriff McFayden stated he would give the defence an extra fortnight for knowledgeable reviews to be acquired, setting a deadline for 4 May.

An extra preliminary listening to has been scheduled for 22 May, with Rossi remanded in custody.

Defendant ‘faked dying to keep away from prosecution’

He was alleged to have faked his personal dying three years in the past and fled to the UK to dodge prosecution.

Rossi was arrested in October final yr after checking himself into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with COVID-19.

While in Scotland, beneath the alias Knight and posing as a tutor, Rossi developed COVID pneumonitis and have become “the sickest patient on the ward”, in line with medical workers who had been caring for him on the time.

Police Scotland officers had been then issued with an Interpol purple discover, with photos of the needed man, together with photographs of his tattoos and fingerprints.