Alahverdian extradition decision delayed, but appeals and other cases likely to drag it on
EDINBURGH, Scotland — The week-long extradition hearing for fugitive Nicholas Alahverdian, the former Rhode Island con man arrested on Utah rape charges in December 2021, adjourned Friday with no decision yet on whether he will be returned to America.
In a case defined for months by delays — some purposeful on Alahverdian’s part, some simply the slow slog of Scottish justice — the case was continued until July 12, when both Alahverdian’s lawyer and the Crown’s prosecutor will finish giving their final arguments.
All week long, the proceedings have started late, but unlike times when Alahverdian has resisted coming to court or being moved upstairs from the lockup, these delays were caused by transportation complications of getting prisoners from the nearby prison to the courthouse.
But Judge Norman McFadyen has also acted cautiously in the case, entertaining virtually every motion made by Alahverdian’s defense in an attempt, legal observers say, to fend off avenues of future appeals.
Appeals, possible sexual assault charges in England would delay Alahverdian's return
Even if McFadyen orders Alahverdian extradited, the 35-year-old man who contends he is a wrongly charged Englishman named Arthur Knight, can ask for an appeal hearing.
Paul Dunne, a lawyer in the extradition court, said that hearing would likely be held in September at the earliest.
But a separate case could complicate Alahverdian’s return to Utah.
More on this case: 'Dateline NBC' to cover story of RI fugitive Nicholas Alahverdian. Here's the story.
A woman in Essex, England accused Alahverdian of raping her in 2017 as Alahverdian was making one of his first attempts to flee the United States. In an exchange of text messages she showed The Journal, Alahverdian was adamant about moving in with her before he ever left the States or met her in person.
Alahverdian's team calls witness to testify on prison's condition
The rape allegedly happened within a week of him moving in with her. Alahverdian has not been charged, but Essex police would like to interview him. If he is ultimately charged, that case would have to proceed first before Alahverdian is extradited, said Mungo Bovey, Alahverdian’s public defender.
On Friday, a day after Alahverdian made what the prosecutor here called “scandalous” allegations against the Utah prosecutor who had him indicted, Alahverdian’s legal team called — at their client’s insistence — William King, an inmate at the same prison as Alahverdian who was convicted of sexually assaulting children.
King echoed Alahverdian’s complaints made Thursday about how poorly he was treated by prison staff, testifying that prison staff didn’t appear to take his mobility problems seriously (Alahverdian uses a wheelchair) and that his prison mate’s oxygen levels were below normal.
Faking his death did not keep law enforcement at bay
Alahverdian went to great lengths to fake his death in February 2020, informing Rhode Island reporters and state lawmakers weeks earlier that he had late-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and asking them to commemorate his “warrior” work for child welfare. Some reporters did just that, reporting on his illness and "death."
Utah prosecutors were so confident that Alahverdian was still alive that they issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with the first of two 2008 alleged rapes seven months after his supposed demise. He also faces a charge of sexual battery that allegedly happened that same year in Utah.
And it was in 2008 that he was found guilty of one count of “sexual imposition” and one count of public indecency after he assaulted a woman at a Ohio community college. He was eventually ordered to file as a registered sex offender.
Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Nicholas Rossi extradition case continued to July
