A prominent Boston lawyer was found not guilty on two counts of rape in Suffolk Superior Court Friday.
Gary Zerola, once named one of People Magazine’s Top 50 Bachelors, was accused of raping a 23-year-old woman he spent a night with back in November 2016.
The current defense attorney was a former prosecutor in Suffolk and Essex Counties. His prominent status, the victim claims, was one of the reasons why she didn’t go to the police right away.
Zerola was 45 years old when he allegedly went with the victim and her friend for a night of drinking. Prosecutors said Zerola raped the victim at a friend’s apartment later in the night.
From day one, the defense painted the victim as a liar, claiming that she kept changing her story and even kissed Zerola earlier in the night. The prosecution says the victim never consented to Zerola’s advances and she acted as normal as possible because there was nothing she could do at that moment.
The victim testified she didn’t report the incident to police until a few days later because she was too scared saying Zerola made it clear he was a well-known lawyer in Boston.