(NewsNation) — Utah rape suspect Nicholas Rossi refused to appear at a court hearing Tuesday, where a judge then ordered that “reasonable force” be used, if necessary, to compel him to appear next month.

Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with the rape of a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, in 2008. He wasn’t identified as a suspect until about a decade later due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab.

Rossi, 36, insists he’s not who a DNA test claims him to be and insists this is a case of mistaken identity. He has claimed he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had never set foot on American soil.

Rossi was set to make an appearance remotely from the Utah County Jail in his rape trial. His lawyers said he refused to leave his cell and were unable to clarify whether Rossi’s absence was due to illness.

The judge overseeing the case said that if Rossi wasn’t sick, he lacked a valid excuse for not showing up.

The judge was forced to reschedule the hearing for Feb. 6. Rossi is also due in court on Friday to face a second rape charge.

He made his first court appearance in a Utah courtroom last week. He’s repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair, using an oxygen mask and speaking with an apparent British accent.

Rossi has used at least 10 different aliases over the years, prosecutors claim.

Rossi is accused of fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges.

Authorities said his run from the law ended when he was arrested in December 2021 after being recognized by someone at a Glasgow, Scotland, hospital while he was being treated for COVID-19.

He was extradited from Scotland earlier this month. 

The man had said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi.