Zerola acquitted of attempted rape

LYNN – Lynn native Gary Zerola, 36, a former prosecutor in the Essex and Suffolk district attorney offices, was acquitted Friday on charges that he tried to rape a 19-year-old woman after he allegedly charmed her with gifts and alcohol.Zerola was found not guilty on a variety of charges including assault with attempt to rape, kidnapping, and indecent assault and battery after a Middlesex County jury deliberated for less than one day.He still, however, faces allegations of rape from two other young women.The judge in the case had barred prosecutors from telling jurors about the two other rape cases pending against Zerola, who was named one of People Magazine’s “Most Eligible Bachelors” in 2001 because of his good looks and work with foster children.Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, who represented Zerola, denied that Zerola assaulted the woman and attacked her credibility, calling her a party girl and a habitual liar who coerced Zerola into buying her expensive gifts.”We were confident in the case we put before the jury, but we must respect their decision today and we thank them for their service to the commonwealth,” he said.In the case decided Friday, Zerola had been accused of attacking the then 19-year-old woman in August 2006 after a night of drinking and taking painkillers while visiting various bars and nightclubs.The woman, now 20, testified that Zerola let her drive his Porsche and bought her a $450 Dolce & Gabbana dress and $200 shoes at Neiman Marcus.She said that she told Zerola she wanted to take a cab back to her parent’s house in Newton, but he insisted on giving her a ride. She said Zerola then attacked her after they stopped at his apartment to use the bathroom.The woman said after she repeatedly rejected his sexual advances, he forced her into the bathroom and slammed her forehead against a doorframe.The woman testified that she escaped after she dialed 911 on her cell phone, and Zerola let her go after he saw the blue lights of a police car flashing outside.Prosecutors played the 911 tape with the woman screaming at Zerola to stop, however, Defense Attorney Janice Bassil claimed that the woman instead refused to leave Zerola’s apartment and that the 911 tape was actually a recording of Zerola trying to get her out.Basil also said the woman made up the story and showed in court a pair of undamaged panties that the woman said Zerola had ripped off.Leone declined further comment on the case because Zerola still faces a separate trial in Boston in the 2004 rape of another 19-year-old woman.Like the 2006 case, the 2004 incident involves a woman he met at a bar before allegedly assaulting her in his Boston apartment.Prosecutors say he repeatedly raped the woman in 2004.Then, while Zerola was free on bail in October 20007 after being charged with the Boston assaults, he traveled to Miami, Fla. – a violation of his terms of release – reportedly to watch the New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins with a girlfriend.On that trip, Zerola allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman at a Miami Beach hotel that he met at a bar.He allegedly told police in Florida, however, that he did not have sex with the woman.Zerola was a prosecutor in the Essex County and Suffolk district attorney offices before he opened his own law practice and represented several high profile defendants, including Blake Collela, who he was acquitted of rape in 2006.