Rape suspect Nicholas Rossi is extradited from Scotland to the US after a protracted legal battle in which he claimed he was actually an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight

Nicholas Rossi was born Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987 to mother Diana Alahverdian and father Jack Alahverdian, according to reports in the American newspaper The Providence Journal.

He was adopted by his stepfather David Rossi and changed his surname to Rossi.

Rossi had a turbulent childhood and left home as a teenager, spending much of his adolescence in the care facilities of Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

He spoke out against care conditions, claiming to have suffered abuse and neglect, and made a name for himself by campaigning to improve services for children in state care.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. As a result, he was placed on the sex offenders register.

Rossi claimed in late 2019 that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and around this time friends in the media and politics said they started getting calls from him saying he was dying.

In early 2020, an obituary for Rossi appeared online stating that he had died and his ashes had been scattered at sea.

What is Rossi accused of?

Rossi is wanted in the US for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and is also accused of domestic violence.

Authorities say he faked his own death to avoid charges in the US.

What happened next?

It is unclear when Rossi left the US for Britain as he continues to insist he is Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is said to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, using the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards, but in 2021 Rossi became so ill with Covid-19 that he had to be admitted to the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

How was Rossi caught?

In July 2020, DNA reportedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah, ultimately leading to his discovery in Scotland.

He was arrested in Glasgow hospital on 13 December 2021 by police officers who served him with an Interpol red warrant.

With the help of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.

What is Rossi's version of events?

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi, as he continues to insist that he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

During court hearings he has retained his painful English accent, with an Irish accent whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.

In his final interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the “real” Rossi to come forward to “save my wife and me out of this mess.”