SALT LAKE CITY — After two full days, the state rested its case Tuesday in the trial of Nicholas Rossi, hours after an Orem woman took the stand claiming she had been raped in 2008 by the man who allegedly fled the country to avoid facing justice.
However, before the woman could testify, Judge Barry G. Lawrence pointed out to the jury that her account was separate from the case being tried.
"This evidence is not being admitted to prove a character trait of the defendant or to show that he acted in a manner consistent with that trait," Judge Lawrence said. "You may consider this act only if you find the state has proved, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant committed this act.”
The woman gave a similar account to the one shared by a Salt Lake County victim on Monday. She said she was 21 years old when she met Rossi online and that the relationship moved fast, too fast for her liking.
What happened during the first day of the Nicholas Rossi rape trial?
Money also became an issue between the two, which was also similar to the victim on day one of the trial.
“I would pay for everything when we did go out," the Orem victim testified. "it just got progressively worse.”
After breaking up with Rossi, he allegedly called the woman to say he had the money to pay her back. When she returned to his Orem apartment, that's when the alleged sexual assault occurred.
Rossi claims his name is Arthur Knight and that authorities have the wrong person, and that he has never been to Utah. On the first day of the trial, prosecutors told the jury that last year that Rossi acknowledged his identity in a prior court hearing.
Following the woman's testimony, a police officer took the stand and stated that Rossi had filed a report of his own in September 2008.
“[Rossi] wanted to make a report that he had been raped by his girlfriend,” said Orem Ofc. James Thompson.
Rossi claimed the victim would stay at his Orem apartment for days at a time, even when he asked her to leave.
In cross-examination of the victim, the defense read a police report in which they said showed that she had gone to dinner with Rossi after the alleged assault.
Rossi's defense team will present its case on Wednesday, although it is not yet known whether he will take the stand in his own defense.
