A man wanted for alleged sex crimes in the US is demanding his bail conditions – which allow police to enter his home at any time – be made ‘less stringent’.
Lawyers acting for a man alleged to be Nicholas Rossi, 34, passed on the request to prosecutors during a court hearing on Thursday.
Solicitor John Good told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that the police are repeatedly calling at the man’s house in Woodlands, Glasgow.
He said the visits are causing ‘difficulties’ for the man, who is receiving oxygen treatment after falling seriously ill with Covid-19.
Prosecutors say the male who appeared before Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC on Thursday is Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted in the States over an allegation of sexual assault.
He is accused of faking his death from cancer in the US to avoid the charge, before fleeing to Scotland – where he was found on a Covid ward allegedly using the alias Arthur Knight.
He was arrested on December 13 last year after being admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for urgent treatment of the virus.
Lawyers acting for a man alleged to be Nicholas Rossi, 34, passed on the request to prosecutors during a court hearing on Thursday. (Pictured: Man purported to be Mr Rossi arriving at court in a wheelchair, donning an oxygen mask, Fedora hat and pinstriped suit)
Rossi (pictured) is accused of faking his death from cancer in the US to avoid a sexual assault charge, before fleeing to Scotland
He was traced following a tip off from Interpol while he was on a ventilator in intensive care.
Sheriff Alistair Noble remanded the man in custody following a hearing last month.
However, he was given bail after a hearing at the Sheriff Appeal Court last week.
A condition of his bail is that he allow police officers to visit his home at any time of day.
On Thursday, the man appeared in court again in a wheelchair, donning a Fedora hat, suit jacket and a smart pin striped shirt.
The man was also wearing an oxygen mask.
His lawyer Mr Good said there were ‘difficulties’ with the numerous police visits.
He said: ‘He is subject to a curfew between 6pm and 6am every evening.
‘I have passed information onto the Crown about how the police are calling every day.
‘The calls are coming early in the morning, late into the evening and sometimes into the early hours.
‘I have passed the information in the hope of making the order less stringent because of all the difficulties that are proceeding from it.’
The solicitor also told the court that if the order wasn’t made less stringent, lawyers could make a legal challenge on the basis that the requirement was ‘oppressive’.
Prosecutors say the male who appeared before Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC on Thursday (pictured) is Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted in the States over an allegation of sexual assault
Mr Rossi told US media in December 2019 that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had weeks to live.
Several outlets reported that he had died in February 2020.
Rossi, who also goes by the name Nicholas Alahverdian, is accused by Utah prosecutors of fleeing the US to avoid prosecution for an alleged sexual assault in 2008.
He is said to have attacked women in the states of Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts.
Sheriff Noble remanded him in custody last month after hearing submissions that he was a ‘significant flight risk’.
However, he is now on bail.
On Thursday, the man came into court in an electric wheelchair that he was operating.
He didn’t sit in the dock. He sat at the table where solicitors usually make their submissions and removed his Fedora Hat.
Rossi (pictured in undated photo), who also goes by the name Nicholas Alahverdian, is accused by Utah prosecutors of fleeing the US to avoid prosecution for an alleged sexual assault in 2008.
Rossi (pictured) is said to have attacked women in the states of Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts
Mr Good started proceedings by saying: ‘I represent Nicholas Rossi or Mr Knight as he prefers to be known as.’
Prosecutor Claire Kennedy told the court that the Crown didn’t oppose a motion to discharge a hearing scheduled to take place next week.
She told the court that a procedural hearing will take place in eight weeks time whilst a full hearing in the case will take place in 12 weeks time.
Ms Kennedy also said the court will then establish the man’s identity – of whether he is Nicholas Rossi or another male called Arthur Knight.
She said: ‘The issue of identity will be dealt with at the full hearing.’
Sheriff Welsh then continued the man’s bail and fixed hearings to take place in April and May 2022.
Following proceedings, the man said to be Rossi sat in his wheelchair outside court. He was asked questions by reporters who couldn’t hear his responses as his face was covered by the oxygen mask. He asked for business cards.
He then left the court building and was given help to get into a waiting taxi.
The case will call later this year.
