A Massachusetts jury found Gary Zerola, the former assistant district attorney charged with two counts of rape in an alleged 2016 attack in Boston, not guilty on Friday.
Prosecutors had accused Zerola of sexually assaulting a friend of his then-girlfriend's at a Beacon Hill apartment after a night of partying together in 2016. The attorney pleaded not guilty.
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The courtroom was filled with family and friends of Zerola's and broke out in tears and cheers of excitement when the verdict was read. The alleged victim, who was 23 at the time of the incident, was not in the courtroom at the time.
Afterward, Zerola made a brief statement to reporters thanking his lawyers.
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"They believed in me from Day 1 and they never once doubted my innocence," he said.
Zerola, a 51-year-old who was once named among People magazine's most eligible bachelors, has faced several allegations of sexual assault over the years. He once served in the office that brought the charges, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, and the lead prosecutor in the case was brought in from the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
Zerola still faces similar allegations in another case in Suffolk County, a representative for the district attorney's office noted.
"We are not afraid to prosecute the toughest cases and we always respect the jury’s verdict, no matter how disappointing," DA spokesman James Borghesani said. We are grateful to the special prosecutor and victim advocate from Middlesex who guided this case from the start, the Boston detectives who investigated it, and especially the survivor who had the courage to come forward and the patience to stick with it. There is still a pending 2021 case against this defendant with similar allegations, and we will once again do our best to prove those charges."
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In the 2016 case, prosecutors said in Suffolk Superior Court that Zerola waited for the right time to rape his girlfriend's coworker while she was sleeping on a couch after a night of partying. He allegedly asked to meet up with the pair after learning they were hanging out together after work.
Zerola's legal team said that's absolutely not true, that the alleged victim saw him post on social media and asked if she could join him. While hanging out and having drinks, his defense attorneys said the woman sat in his lap, pulled his face to hers and kissed him — despite the fact that he was her coworker's boyfriend.
The alleged victim told jurors she woke up to find Zerola sexually assaulting her. She said she was shocked and swore at him.
On the stand, the woman recalled how Zerola gave her and a mutual friend a ride to her car after the alleged incident.
His defense attorney said the alleged victim initially denied any physical contact until she saw there was a picture.
Meanwhile, the prosecution said Zerola intentionally took advantage of the woman without her consent. She said she was scared and didn’t say anything because she knew the defendant was an important Boston attorney.
The defense argued that the alleged victim has changed her story numerous times and took two days to report the alleged assault.
In 2008, Zerola was acquitted in two rape cases out of Boston and had another dropped in Florida. The former prosecutor was once named one of People Magazine's top bachelors.
In a separate case in 2021, Zerola was accused of breaking into an apartment of an acquaintance he'd earlier driven home from a private party and having sex with her against her will.