Utah judge sentences Rossi to five years to life for 2008 rapes

A Utah judge on Monday sentenced a Rhode Island man who appeared to fake his own death and flee the country to avoid prosecution to a prison term of five years to life for an assault conviction tied to rapes in northern Utah in 2008. District Judge Barry Lawrence imposed the sentence in Salt Lake City after a jury in August found 38-year-old Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, guilty of first-degree felony assault. Rossi faces a second sentencing on a separate conviction in November.

Prosecutors and the victim described a pattern of manipulation and violence that began in 2008 after the woman responded to a personal ad Rossi placed on Craigslist. The victim, who testified at trial and was identified in court filings as recovering from a traumatic brain injury at the time, said the two became engaged within weeks and that Rossi pressured her to pay for dates, car repairs and loans and to take on debt to buy engagement rings. She told the court he later raped her in his bedroom after she drove him home. A second woman reported a separate attack at Rossi's apartment in Orem around the same time.

Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Brandon Simmons told...