An extradition hearing for US rape suspect Nicholas Rossi is set to be filmed in a legal first for Scotland. Rossi, 35, who fled from America to escape an array of alleged offences, is due to have his case heard on Monday.
Evidence on Rossi’s identity will be presented at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in a bid to disprove his claims he’s actually a man called Arthur Knight. Several broadcasters are vying to have their cameras in court to capture proceedings, which are down to last for three days.
Law chiefs have received a “number of applications” to screen the hearing as the strange case has generated huge interest on both sides of the Atlantic. Legal sources say the BBC are believed to be among the applicants, as well as documentary filmmakers and even US television stations.
A source close to the case said: “The BBC is involved along with documentary teams and even stations in the States. The concern is it becomes The Nicholas Rossi Show because he’ll love it. He’ll be the centre of attention, which is what he wants. Cameras will give him extra impetus to turn it into a circus.”
A Judicial Office spokeswoman said: “We have received a number of applications to film proceedings in this extradition case. We are in the process of considering those applications under the guidelines set out in the broadcast protocol.”
The spokeswoman added: “Filming within the sheriff courts needs to be approved by the Sheriff Principal and the Lord President. No final decision has been reached with these applications.”
It’s understood a hearing will take place at the sheriff court on Thursday to determine whether Monday’s extradition case can still proceed after Rossi sacked his lawyer.
Rossi has delivered a string of rants from his wheelchair, usually with his face covered by an oxygen mask, and exhibited bizarre behaviour in court. He previously claimed he was “dying” and being “tortured” while being held in the capital’s Saughton Prison.
Rossi alleged a US prosecutor was targeting him for “political purposes” as he’d unearthed information about him being involved in “ritualistic child sex abuse”.
He once reacted furiously after his former lawyer accidentally called him “Mr Rossi”, prompting him to exclaim “Knight! Knight! Knight!, before being told to be quiet. And in September he attempted to hold a minute’s silence for the late Queen at the start of a hearing.
Rossi, who is accused of faking his own death in the US, was arrested at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital last December while receiving treatment for Covid-19. He is currently being held in Saughton after his latest application for bail was refused at the Sheriff Appeal Court.
It’s not known whether Rossi will appear on Monday via video link or be brought to court from custody. Rossi is understood to have fired his most recent lawyer, Ronnie Renucci KC, in recent days after sacking several previous legal representatives - a move which leaves the fate of the hearing in question.
But broadcasters have been queuing up to get cameras in to film the evidence on Rossi’s identity. Prosecutors have photos of the man they say is Nicholas Rossi, including his distinctive tattoos.
Although cameras have been allowed in Scots courts before - including in 2019 for the sentencing of Alesha MacPhail’s killer Aaron Campbell - it’s believed this is a first for an extradition matter. At a previous hearing, the court was told a psychologist had examined Rossi in jail. Rossi said he’d had a heart attack in prison while his mental health was deteriorating and he was suffering from hallucinations.
US prosecutors claim Rossi raped a 21-year-old in Utah, in 2008. He is also said to have attacked women in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts. They say he has previously used the names Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown, Arthur Brown and Arthur Knight.
Rossi reportedly 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.
The BBC declined to comment.
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