Gary Zerola: Rape Conviction, Sentence, and Prior Acquittals

Gary Zerola, a former Massachusetts prosecutor once named by People magazine as one of America’s most eligible bachelors, was convicted of rape by a Suffolk Superior Court jury in June 2024 and sentenced the following month to five to ten years in state prison. It was his first criminal conviction, arriving after three earlier sexual assault trials ended in acquittal.¹

The 2021 Beacon Hill Assault

Prosecutors said that on the evening of January 11, 2021, Zerola spent more than $2,000 on a night of drinking with a woman he was dating and her 21-year-old friend. After the younger woman became heavily intoxicated, she was taken back to her apartment in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. In the early morning hours of January 12, according to prosecutors, Zerola returned to the apartment uninvited and sexually assaulted her while she slept.²

Boston police obtained an arrest warrant the same day. Zerola surrendered three days later and was arraigned on January 15, 2021, in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court on charges of rape and breaking and entering with felony intent. Judge Mark Hart Summerville ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.³ At the January 21 hearing, Judge Thomas Horgan continued the no-bail order after Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum argued that no conditions of release could keep the community or the victim safe.⁴ Zerola pleaded not guilty.⁵

Then–District Attorney Rachael Rollins noted at the time that the alleged 2021 offense had occurred while Zerola was out on bail in an earlier sexual assault case.³

The Verdict

Zerola went to trial on three charges: rape, aggravated rape, and burglary. On June 26, 2024, after roughly five hours of deliberation, a Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted him of rape and acquitted him on the aggravated rape and burglary counts.²

The Sentence

On July 15, 2024, Superior Court Judge Mary K. Ames sentenced Zerola, then 52, to five to ten years in state prison, to be served in Norfolk County. Prosecutors had asked for nine to thirteen years. The defense had sought two to three, with attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. citing Zerola’s difficult upbringing, his charitable work with foster children, and a rare eye cancer diagnosis.⁶

The victim did not attend the hearing. ADA Polumbaum read her statement aloud, describing recurring nightmares, “extremely hypervigilant” fear, and what she called a “significant and insidious effect” on her life. She asked for the maximum sentence.⁶

District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, “These cases are always difficult, and this victim deserves enormous credit for taking the stand and telling the jury what happened to her that night.”⁷ Polumbaum said the prosecution was “gratified that the jury validated what happened to the survivor.”⁸

Zerola’s attorney called the sentence higher than expected and confirmed that the defense is appealing the conviction.⁸ Zerola has been incarcerated since the jury returned its verdict in June 2024.

Three Earlier Acquittals

The 2024 conviction came after nearly three decades of accusations against Zerola, each of which had ended without a guilty verdict.

In January 2008, a Boston jury acquitted him of beating and attempting to rape a 19-year-old woman in a 2006 incident.⁹ Two months later, in March 2008, a separate Suffolk Superior Court jury acquitted him after two hours of deliberation on rape and liquor charges tied to a February 2004 incident at his Beacon Hill condominium. Both accusers were young women who had met Zerola at bars using fake IDs after heavy drinking. Judges in both trials barred prosecutors from arguing that he was a serial predator targeting intoxicated women. Defense attorney Janice Bassil attributed the March acquittal to a lack of physical evidence, including the absence of DNA; Boston police had never sought a search warrant for the alleged crime scene.¹⁰ After that verdict, Zerola told reporters, “Today is a victory for all those people who are falsely accused.”¹¹

A Miami-Dade County charge accusing Zerola of force-feeding drugs to an 18-year-old woman and raping her at a Miami Beach hotel in October 2007 was dropped. Prosecutors, in a memo filed with the circuit court, cited a lack of DNA evidence and credibility problems with the accuser, who had reportedly lied about drug use and drinking and given inconsistent accounts to investigators.¹²

In 2016, Zerola was charged with raping a 23-year-old woman who said she had awakened on a friend’s couch to find him assaulting her. He posted $10,000 bail, and the case lingered for years.³ On June 9, 2023, after a four-day trial, a Suffolk County jury acquitted him on two counts of rape in under three hours. The defense pointed to inconsistent statements by the accuser and her friend, and the jury saw video of the accuser kissing Zerola at a bar, which contradicted her initial statements to police.¹³ The Beacon Hill assault for which he was later convicted occurred while the 2016 case was still pending.

Who Gary Zerola Is

Zerola began his legal career as a prosecutor, joining the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in 1999 for about a year before moving to the Suffolk County DA’s office for roughly two months in 2000. According to Boston Magazine, District Attorney Ralph C. Martin asked him to step down after he allegedly defied orders by intervening in a matter involving a friend arrested on domestic-related charges.¹⁴

In April 2002 he opened a private firm at 101 Tremont Street in Boston, handling criminal defense, civil, family, and debt collection work.¹⁴ Around the same period he founded a nonprofit called One for the Kids to help foster children, work later recognized by former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.⁶ In 2001, People named him one of “America’s Top 50 Bachelors” alongside Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.¹⁵

His law license was temporarily suspended in November 2007 amid the earlier allegations and reinstated in April 2008.¹⁶

1
WBUR. Gary Zerola Rape Conviction Sentenced
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The Hill. Boston Lawyer Once Named Most Eligible Bachelor Sentenced to 5-10 Years for Raping 21-Year-Old
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Suffolk District Attorney. Gary Zerola Arraigned
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Boston Herald. Former Suffolk Prosecutor Held Without Bail on Rape Charge
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WBZ NewsRadio. Former Boston Attorney Held Without Bail Facing Rape and B&E Charges
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NBC Boston. Former Mass. Prosecutor To Be Sentenced for 2021 Rape
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News4Jax. Boston Lawyer Once Named Most Eligible Bachelor Sentenced to 5-10 Years for Raping 21-Year-Old
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CBS News Boston. Gary Zerola Former Boston Prosecutor Rape Conviction
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NBC News. Eligible Bachelor Acquitted of Rape Charge
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Boston Herald. Zerola Found Not Guilty in 2nd Rape Rap
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UPI. Bachelor Wannabe Not Guilty in Rape Case
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Law.com. Charges Dropped Against Gary Zerola
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Court TV. Gary Zerola Found Not Guilty of Two Counts of Rape
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Boston Magazine. Gary Zerola
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LA Magazine. Former People Magazine Most Eligible Bachelor Found Guilty of Rape in Boston
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WCVB. Prominent Boston Attorney Gary Zerola Guilty in 4th Rape Case