Salt Lake City CNN —A man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the US to avoid rape charges will stand trial, a judge in Utah ruled Thursday. District Judge Barry Lawrence said during Nicholas Rossi’s preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial, KTVX-TV reported. Prosecutors say Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old former girlfriend after an argument in Salt Lake County in 2008. His attorneys at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday evening. Utah County court documents show that Rossi is also accused of sexual assault, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts, KTVX-TV reported.

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Persons: Barry Lawrence, Nicholas Rossi’s, Rossi, Nicholas Alahverdian, Arthur Knight Organizations: Salt Lake City CNN, Prosecutors, Utah State Crime, Legal, Associated Press, Authorities Locations: Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake County, Orem , Utah, Salt, Irish, American, Rhode Island, Scotland, Glasgow, Rhode Island , Ohio, Massachusetts