Man accused of faking death to avoid rape charges guilty of sexual assault

Nicholas Rossi was found guilty of sexual assault at his first trial in Utah (Firecrest Films/AP)

A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges was found guilty of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials.

A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand.