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British ‘victim of US rapist' has case dropped

British ‘victim of US rapist' has case dropped

Telegrapha day ago
A woman who claimed she was raped in Britain by American sex offender Nicholas Rossi has accused the Crown Prosecution Service of not doing its job after it refused to prosecute him.
Rossi, 38, who faked his own death in 2020 and fled to Britain in order to avoid charges against him in the US, was convicted of rape in Utah this week.
But the CPS has declined to prosecute over a former girlfriend's allegations he raped her at her home in Chelmsford, Essex, in 2017, saying there is insufficient evidence.
The woman, named only as Michelle, began a relationship with Rossi in 2017 after meeting on an online dating app.
'We cannot prove rape'
She said he claimed to be a Harvard-educated political lobbyist, and once they were in a relationship, he demanded she buy him an iPhone, give him money and never wear trousers.
Rossi is accused of tracking her whereabouts and raping her in her own bedroom, after which she threw him out and reported him to the authorities.
But after an Essex Police investigation, the CPS decided not to prosecute him.
'We cannot prove that [Rossi] was aware that you did not want to have sex with him at the point of penetration despite your earlier refusal and the fact that you were not actively participating in the intercourse,' Helen Walsh, the district crown prosecutor, wrote in a letter dated July 24, according to The Times.
'I appreciate that you will be very unhappy and distressed that this case could not proceed but I am grateful that you felt able to raise your concerns.'
Rossi has denied the accusations.
Michelle told the newspaper: 'I am very happy that Nicholas Rossi has been found guilty of rape in Utah, But I am shocked, distressed and angered that no action will be taken in my case in the UK.
'It feels to me like the CPS are blaming the victim rather than doing their job. The authorities in the US believed the woman, took action and secured a unanimous conviction despite similar amounts of evidence existing in both cases.
'I am deeply concerned for other rape survivors in England who are fighting for justice and are reliant on receiving support from the CPS.'
Rapist trapped on Covid ward
Rossi, originally from Rhode Island, was arrested in Glasgow in 2021 while receiving treatment for Covid-19 after hospital staff recognised his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol red notice.
He insisted he was Arthur Knight, a disabled Englishman who was being framed for the crimes.
But he was extradited after a Scottish court ruled he was Rossi and on Wednesday, he was found guilty by a court in Salt Lake County, Utah, of raping his former fiancée. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
A spokesman for the CPS said: 'Our prosecutors take the greatest care when examining allegations of rape – looking at the facts of each case in detail.
'After a careful review of all the materials in this case, we concluded there was not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of securing a conviction.
'A request to review this decision led to a second prosecutor reviewing the case, who reached the same conclusion, and we wrote to [Michelle] to explain our decision-making.
'We consistently charge around 7 in 10 of the rape cases passed to us by police, but we recognise there is more we can do in partnership with police to build the strongest possible cases from the outset.'
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