Gary Zerola, ex-prosecutor and onetime high bachelor, discovered not responsible in 2016 rape case

Crime

Zerola can also be awaiting trial on a separate 2021 rape case, the place he’s equally accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old girl whereas she slept.

A Suffolk Superior Courtroom jury discovered Gary Zerola – a former prosecutor and onetime Folks journal high bachelor — not responsible on two rape prices Friday. 

Zerola, 51, had been accused of raping a girl in November 2016 following an evening of ingesting. The girl, whose good friend was relationship Zerola on the time, testified that she woke as much as discover Zerola undressing and assaulting her whereas her good friend lay sleeping close by. 

All through the four-day trial, Zerola’s attorneys hammered at witnesses’ credibility, making an attempt to poke holes in testimony from the alleged sufferer and her good friend, each 29 years previous now. 

“They’ll’t get their tales straight,” protection lawyer Joseph Krowski Jr. mentioned in a closing argument broadcast on Courtroom TV.

“For those who’re telling the reality, it’s simple to get your story straight,” Krowski mentioned. “For those who’re telling the reality, you’re solely recalling one thing that truly occurred. However if you lie, it’s a lot tougher since you’re attempting to recollect earlier lies you’ve already instructed.”

The protection workforce repeatedly cited the alleged sufferer’s prior relationship with Zerola, pointing to Snapchats, outings for dinner and drinks, and a bike experience. 

Nevertheless, prosecutor Thomas Brant argued in his personal closing argument that none of these interactions constituted consent.

Brant alleged that Zerola noticed the lady asleep on the sofa that morning and thought, “I can do that; I’m Gary ‘Huge Time Lawyer’ Zerola. We had been all ingesting final night time. I used to be paying for it, and naturally, I can inform she needs me.” 

Zerola’s protection workforce objected to Brant’s characterization, and Choose Michael Ricciuti ordered “Huge Time Lawyer” struck from the document. 

Protection lawyer Rosemary Scapicchio instructed The Boston Globe that her shopper was “relieved” by Friday’s verdict.

“It’s at all times traumatic to be accused of such a severe offense,” Scapicchio instructed the Globe. “However in actuality, the commonwealth simply didn’t have any proof to show this case past an inexpensive doubt.”

She added: “The jury obtained it proper.”

For his half, Zerola instructed reporters exterior the courthouse that he was “grateful that the jury had an open thoughts, and so they listened to the details,” per video from WCVB. 

Friday’s verdict marks the third time Zerola has been acquitted on sexual assault allegations; court docket information present that as many as a dozen ladies have accused Zerola of comparable assaults stretching again to 1996, in accordance with the Globe. 

He’s additionally awaiting trial on a separate 2021 rape case, the place he’s accused of breaking right into a 21-year-old girl’s house and sexually assaulting her whereas she slept. Prosecutors have mentioned that Zerola met the lady at a celebration and accompanied her again to her house with a mutual acquaintance earlier than returning and getting into the house with out her permission. 

In an announcement following Friday’s verdict, the Suffolk County District Legal professional’s Workplace expressed gratitude to the particular prosecutor, sufferer advocate, and Boston detectives who labored on the 2016 case, “and particularly the survivor who had the braveness to return ahead and the endurance to keep it up.” 

“We aren’t afraid to prosecute the hardest instances and we at all times respect the jury’s verdict, irrespective of how disappointing,” Suffolk District Legal professional Kevin Hayden’s workplace mentioned. 

As for the pending 2021 case, the DA’s workplace mentioned it’s going to “as soon as once more do our greatest to show these prices.”