The man accused of forgerying his death to avoid sexual assault and fraud allegations and fleeing to avoid sexual assault and fraud allegations, prosecutors said he was convicted of rape in Utah.
A ju judge in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Aralverdien, who was accused of Nicholas Rossi by Utah authorities and committed crimes after three days of testimony. Deliberations began on Wednesday.
He will be sentenced Oct. 20, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said. He faces five years of life in prison.
“In this case, we are grateful to the survivors for their willingness to move forward a few years after this attack occurred,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement. “We appreciate her patience when we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could be held and justice could be achieved. It took courage and courage to stand up to the attacker to hold him accountable.”
Alahverdian’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
Alahverdian is facing a second rape trial in nearby Utah County, scheduled for September.
2022 – Two years after an online obituary stated that Aralverdian had died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Aralverdian was arrested in Scotland under the name Arthur Knight.
Speaking in a British accent, appearing in a wheelchair, he denied that he was an Araerdian and claimed that he was an Irish orphan who became a businessman.
The Salt Lake County case prosecutor in his opening statement said he recognized his true identity under oath last year. He accused Alarverdian of raping a 24-year-old woman in 2008 after a whirlwind romance and engagement.
At trial, the victim testified that Aralverdian quickly took control, bought a ring, and became mean after lending him money. She testified that when she removed the ring and told him their relationship had fought, he eventually assaulted her.
Mackenzie Potter, Alahverdian’s defense attorney, compared the allegations to “an old puzzle from the Thrift Store,” saying “not all the pieces are there.”
The victim’s story has changed over time, Potter said, and it cannot be verified.
Alarverdian, who grew up in the Rhode Island foster youth system and later became an outspoken aide in the state’s legislature, was accused or convicted of other assaults and sexual crime cases involving women he had previously been involved.
In Massachusetts in 2010, the woman he was married at the time refused to leave the house following a debate over a crying baby, holding her back, grabbing her by the neck, slapping her in the face, and crying.
Alahverdian was sentenced to probation without pleading a dispute over misdemeanor domestic assault.
In Ohio in 2008, a woman Alarverdian met on Myspace accused her of sexually assaulting her while walking in class at a local community college. He denied the allegations and was charged with misdemeanor crimes showing public indecency, sexual imposition and sexual contact with a person’s will.
After the trial, Alahverdian was fined and ordered to register as a sex offender.
The second Utah incident from 2008 includes a woman who said she began dating after meeting on MySpace. The affidavit in favour of the arrest warrant shows that he became increasingly aggressive and told authorities that after borrowing money without repayment, she broke it.
According to the affidavit, on September 13th of that year, she said she went to his house after he told her he would pay her back. According to documents, he raped her instead.
Authorities said the sexual assault kit was completed the following day, but the test backlog meant that Alahverdian was not identified as a suspect until 10 years later. Alahverdian pleaded not guilty in that case.
