DNA from a fugitive who fled to Scotland matches that collected by cops probing an alleged rape in the US, a court has heard.
Nicholas Rossi, 37, was extradited to the States earlier this year to face sex attack charges.
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The suspect previously claimed he was an Irish-born orphan called Arthur Knight.
On Tuesday, he was back in Provo District Court in Utah.
Rossi attended the hearing in person and appeared clean-shaven.
The court heard that DNA was taken from Rossi in Utah County Jail in January.
Lieutenant Karalee Johnson of the state’s Orem Police Department said the sample matched ones taken 16 years ago.
In 2008, the force was investigating rape allegations and the DNA was kept in its archives.
The court heard that the sample was first matched to Rossi in 2018 and again in January this year.
Judge Derek Pullan said the court had found “probable cause to believe that the defendant Nicholas Rossi committed the offense of rape as charged”.
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We previously told how Rossi had finally ditched his mistaken identity claims.
During a recent pre-trial hearing, his lawyer confirmed his name as Nicholas Rossi, not Arthur Knight.
The move ended a stand-off between his legal team and the state’s authorities.
Rossi also initially refused to have a lawyer allocated to him and insisted he would defend himself.
He has agreed to be represented by publicly-funded defence attorney Samantha Dugan.
Confirming Rossi’s name, she told the court: “Defence stipulates identity.”
Rossi is accused of raping two women and is set to go on trial.
Prosecutors claim that he carried out a serious sexual assault against a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in 2008.
He is also accused of raping his 26-year-old ex-girlfriend following an argument that same year.
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He was arrested in a Covid ward at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in December 2021 following a worldwide manhunt.
Rossi will appear in court again in October.
