Prominent Boston lawyer, once named one of country’s top bachelors, found not guilty of rape

BOSTON — A prominent Boston lawyer was found not guilty on two counts of rape in Suffolk Superior Court Friday.

Gary Zerola, once named one of People Magazine’s Top 50 Bachelors, was accused of raping a 23-year-old woman he spent a night with back in November 2016.

The current defense attorney was a former prosecutor in Suffolk and Essex Counties. His prominent status, the victim claims, was one of the reasons why she didn’t go to the police right away.

Zerola was 45 years old when he allegedly went with the victim and her friend for a night of drinking. Prosecutors said Zerola raped the victim at a friend’s apartment later in the night.

“I’m just thankful the jury had an open mind and listened to all the facts,” said Zerola.

“Mr. Zerola has been exonerated from all of these charges and at this point can try and put his life back together,” said Zerola’s attorney Rosemary Scapicchio. “It’s been a long six-and-a-half months for him.”

From day one, the defense painted the victim as a liar, claiming that she kept changing her story and even kissed Zerola earlier in the night. The prosecution says the victim never consented to Zerola’s advances and she acted as normal as possible because there was nothing she could do at that moment.

The victim testified she didn’t report the incident to police until a few days later because she was too scared saying Zerola made it clear he was a well-known lawyer in Boston.

Suffolk DA spokesperson James Borghesani called the result “disappointing” but said they respected the jury’s verdict.

“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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