Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Judges will decide if extradition, relationships and other cases can be included in Nicholas Rossi's trials on 2008 rape charges.
- Rossi faces charges in Salt Lake and Utah counties with trials scheduled this year.
- After the Salt Lake County judge ruled to close the hearing addressing trial evidence, attorneys in Utah County are debating whether the hearing there should be closed.
SALT LAKE CITY — Two rape cases against Nicholas Rossi scheduled for trial this year face delays as attorneys prepare to debate what information can be brought before the juries.
Judges will need to decide if prosecutors can bring up allegations from around the same time as the alleged crimes, information about other ongoing and resolved cases and information about Rossi's high profile extradition from the United Kingdom.
Rossi has been charged with rape, a first-degree felony, in separate cases in Utah County and Salt Lake County. Both stem from women who claim he raped them in 2008. The Utah County case was filed after a DNA match was found in 2018. The Salt Lake County case was filed in 2022 after a woman saw news coverage of the extradition process and spoke with police.
His Salt Lake County trial was scheduled for April, but on Friday, 3rd District Judge Barry Lawrence agreed with attorneys that more time is needed to address pretrial motions, specifically a motion to bring character evidence into the trial.
In this case, the evidence prosecutors want to share at trial includes:
- An eviction notice for Rossi
- Evidence that prosecutors say shows Rossi was manipulative in his relationship with the alleged victim
- The Utah County rape case
- Evidence of a conviction in a 2008 rape in Ohio
- Evidence that Rossi was involved in a 2009 domestic violence investigation
- Evidence that he changed his name and faked his death
- Evidence of Rossi denying his identity during extradition proceedings in the U.K.
Samantha Dugan, Rossi's attorney, said prosecutors are trying to bring in "seemingly every 'bad act'" alleged against Rossi throughout his life.
Now, the case is scheduled for trial beginning May 19, with a hearing on April 16 to discuss what evidence can be included in the trial. The judge said the hearing will be closed to the public due to the its "sensitive nature."
Lawrence said media attention in previous hearings has not been a big deal, but because the case is getting into more confidential matters, future hearings will not be available remotely after announcing the April hearing would not be available, even in-person, to people not involved in the case.
On Tuesday, Rossi's attorney in the Utah County case, Daniel Diaz, said that while he had first filed the motion to keep character evidence out of the jury trial, the prosecutors' response showed they wanted to bring evidence he was not aware of and that he may need to investigate. The motion was scheduled for oral argument in a hearing on Tuesday, but he asked for more time.
Riaz also asked for the hearing to be closed to the public, citing a decision from the Salt Lake County judge. He said having an open hearing in the Utah County case does not make sense if the other case addresses it in a closed hearing.
Diaz said making information prosecutors want to provide in the hearing public would violate Rossi's due process in both cases.
The evidence prosecutors want to use in this case is similar to the other case. Diaz said in a legal filing that prosecutors want to use his flight and faking his death to show he had a consciousness of guilt, but he argued Rossi fled the U.S. in 2017 before the charges in Utah were filed. He also said Rossi had a legal right to fight his extradition.
Deputy Utah County attorney McKay Lewis agreed to delay the oral arguments, which were scheduled for Tuesday, but said the state's position is that courts are public for a reason and it builds transparency and trust.
"I don't see any reason why this specific hearing would need to be closed if all the other hearings we've had with Mr. Rossi have not been closed. Obviously, this case has garnered international attention, and at this point ... if the jury pool has heard about the case, they've heard about the case," he said.
The hearing to address what can be brought up at the trial is now scheduled for June 23, after the May trial in the other case is over but months in advance of the September trial for Rossi's Utah County case.
Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan said requesting a closed hearing would need to be done through a written motion that addresses balancing the interests of privacy, due process and public interest.
