Former Essex County prosecutor found guilty of rape in 2021 | Local news

BOSTON – Former Essex County prosecutor Gary Zerola, who was found guilty of rape by a Boston court last week, will be sentenced on July 15.

Zerola, of Salem, was accused of breaking into the home of a 21-year-old Boston woman early in the morning of January 12, 2021, and sexually assaulting her while she slept.

The two had been at a private party together the night before and he took her home after she said she felt sick. Later that night, she woke up to find that Zerola had entered her apartment without her permission and had sex with her.

The next morning, the woman went to Mass General Hospital to be examined for rape, then contacted the Boston Police Department’s Sex Offender Unit and reported the rape.

Zerola was acquitted of the second charge, burglary, as well as the charge of aggravated rape.

Last June, Zerola was acquitted of rape in connection with an alleged 2016 attack. He was accused of sexually assaulting a friend of his then-girlfriend after a night of partying together in a Beacon Hill apartment.

In 2008, he was also acquitted of rape charges in Boston and a rape charge against him was also dropped in Florida.

Zerola, now 52, ​​worked as a criminal defense attorney and prosecutor for Essex and Suffolk counties and was once listed as one of People Magazine’s most eligible bachelors.