Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Gary Zerola, ex-prosecutor and onetime top bachelor, found not guilty in 2016 rape case
Zerola is also awaiting trial on a separate 2021 rape case, where he’s similarly accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman while she slept.
A Suffolk Superior Court jury found Gary Zerola – a former prosecutor and onetime People magazine top bachelor — not guilty on two rape charges Friday.
Zerola, 51, had been accused of raping a woman in November 2016 following a night of drinking. The woman, whose friend was dating Zerola at the time, testified that she woke up to find Zerola undressing and assaulting her while her friend lay sleeping nearby.
Throughout the four-day trial, Zerola’s lawyers hammered at witnesses’ credibility, attempting to poke holes in testimony from the alleged victim and her friend, both 29 years old now.
Advertisement:
“They can’t get their stories straight,” defense attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. said in a closing argument broadcast on Court TV.
More on Gary Zerola:
“If you’re telling the truth, it’s easy to get your story straight,” Krowski said. “If you’re telling the truth, you’re only recalling something that actually happened. But when you lie, it’s so much harder because you’re trying to remember previous lies you’ve already told.”
The defense team repeatedly cited the alleged victim’s prior relationship with Zerola, pointing to Snapchats, outings for dinner and drinks, and a motorcycle ride.
Advertisement:
However, prosecutor Thomas Brant argued in his own closing argument that none of those interactions constituted consent.
Brant alleged that Zerola saw the woman asleep on the couch that morning and thought, “I can do this; I’m Gary ‘Big Time Lawyer’ Zerola. We were all drinking last night. I was paying for it, and of course, I can tell she wants me.”
Zerola’s defense team objected to Brant’s characterization, and Judge Michael Ricciuti ordered “Big Time Lawyer” struck from the record.
Defense attorney Rosemary Scapicchio told The Boston Globe that her client was “relieved” by Friday’s verdict.
“It’s always stressful to be accused of such a serious offense,” Scapicchio told the Globe. “But in reality, the commonwealth just didn’t have any evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
She added: “The jury got it right.”
For his part, Zerola told reporters outside the courthouse that he was “thankful that the jury had an open mind, and they listened to the facts,” per video from WCVB.
Friday’s verdict marks the third time Zerola has been acquitted on sexual assault allegations; court records show that as many as a dozen women have accused Zerola of similar assaults stretching back to 1996, according to the Globe.
Advertisement:
He is also awaiting trial on a separate 2021 rape case, where he’s accused of breaking into a 21-year-old woman’s apartment and sexually assaulting her while she slept. Prosecutors have said that Zerola met the woman at a party and accompanied her back to her apartment with a mutual acquaintance before returning and entering the apartment without her permission.
In a statement following Friday’s verdict, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office expressed gratitude to the special prosecutor, victim advocate, and Boston detectives who worked on the 2016 case, “and especially the survivor who had the courage to come forward and the patience to stick with it.”
“We are not afraid to prosecute the toughest cases and we always respect the jury’s verdict, no matter how disappointing,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said.
As for the pending 2021 case, the DA’s office said it will “once again do our best to prove those charges.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com