What did Gary Zerola do? Prominent Boston prosecutor found not guilty in 2016 case

Boston prosecutor, 51-year-old Gary Zerola, was found not guilty in a 2016 r*pe case on Tuesday, June 5, 2023. Zerola had been accused of assaulting several women over the past two decades. The victim of the 2016 case, now a 29-year-old woman accused Zerola of undressing and assaulting her while she was asleep. However, Zerola claimed that the 2016 encounter was completely consensual.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of s*xual assault and r*pe. Discretion is advised.

WCVB reported that Gary Zerola was once regarded as a promising lawyer who led a glamorous bachelor's lifestyle. However, he began to face various accusations from women who claimed that he was prone to predatory behavior. Zerola has denied all allegations made against him.

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Gary Zerola was accused on assaulting a woman in 2016

ABC noted that Gary Zerola was once a well-known prosecutor in Essex and Suffolk counties. He went out on a routine night out in 2016 with the alleged victim and other friends. The group subsequently went to one of Zerola's friend's house where the alleged assault is said to have taken place.

Thomas Brant, the prosecutor in the case, said that the incident may not appear to be an assault. He added that while Zerola and the woman had prior contact and knew each other, the former still violated the woman without consent.

Brant noted:

“You will not hear about a stranger pulling a woman into an alley. You will not see ripped clothing. You will not hear screams or shrieks in the night. This was no stranger, but this was also no consent, what Gary Zerola did to her that night, that early morning.”

Zerola's attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, argued that the now 29-year-old was lying as she hadn't maintained a consistent account of the events of the night.

The defense attorney argued that the victim reportedly told police officers that she had never been alone with Zerola before even though they had supposedly taken motorcycle a ride together. The now 29-year-old woman said that because of the trauma she faced during the incident, she couldn't think clearly when she went to the police.

During the trial, Scapicchio showed the courtroom pictures of the woman k**sing Zerola and argued that the encounter that took place later was probably consensual. The woman admitted to k**sing Zerola but noted that she never wanted their intimate relations to escalate beyond that.

Colleen Daly, the alleged victim's friend, also took the stand against Zerola. She corroborated that the 29-year-old woman had been assaulted by the former prosecutor.

However, defense attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. argued that Daly had a bias against Zerola, and generally painted him in a negative light. Krowski said that the assault appeared fabricated, as Daly and Zerola had supposedly spent the day together after the alleged assault.

While Gary Zerola is currently inactive in the legal sphere, his law license is still legible. He was placed under house arrest during the course of the trial.