A Massachusetts lawyer who has previously been charged with rape was arrested on a new rape charge Friday, police said.
Gary Zerola, a 49-year-old listed as being from Boston and Salem, had also been wanted for allegedly breaking and entering, according to Boston police. He turned himself in at a police station.
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Police didn't give further details about what Zerola is accused of that prompted the warrant from Boston Municipal Court. He was arrested about 12:50 p.m. Friday -- two days after police said they were looking for him in a white SUV.
Zerola appeared in court Friday afternoon, where prosecutors detailed the case against him.
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The victim had called investigators in the Boston police sexual assault unit on Tuesday after going to Massachusetts General Hospital. She had been out Monday night into Tuesday morning with Zerola and a mutual friend at a private party in a closed bar or restaurant in the North Station area, according to prosecutors.
The woman and Zerola had met once before that night, prosecutors said, and the lawyer drove her home because she was feeling sick from the alcohol and an illness. But she allegedly woke up later and found Zerola had entered her apartment without her permission and was having sex with her against her will.
After a lengthy back-and-forth between prosecutors and Zerola's defense team, the lawyer was ordered held in jail until his next hearing Thursday.
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Zerola's lawyer, Joseph Krowski Jr., said outside of court that there was little to the allegations presented by prosecutors.
"The allegations in this case are absurd, the allegations in this case are paper thin," he said.
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Zerola is a criminal defense attorney who has served as a prosecutor in Massachusetts and was once listed by People Magazine as a top bachelor.
He has faced rape charges several times. He was acquitted of two charges in Boston in 2008, and had a rape charge from Florida dropped as well.
In 2016, Zerola was again charged in Massachusetts with two counts of rape, which his attorney said were "based upon a foundation of lies and we vigorously look forward to our day in court."
The Boston Globe reported that Zerola is still awaiting trial in that case.
