SALT LAKE CITY — A year and a half after he was extradited from Scotland to face rape charges in two Utah counties, the first jury trial for Nicholas Rossi is set to begin.

Tuesday was the first of two days where potential jurors will come to the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City as attorneys prepare for opening arguments on Monday and witnesses testimony over the course of next week.

Rossi, 38, is scheduled for another trial in September in Utah County where he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem. In both cases he is charged with rape, a first-degree felony, based on alleged actions in 2008.

He was identified through a DNA rape kit in 2018 and charged in 2020. While receiving care for COVID-19 in a UK hospital, he was identified by investigators.

In Salt Lake County,

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