People magazine's most eligible bachelor heading to prison for rape

Boston, MA – Former Boston prosecutor Gary Zerola, once recognized by People magazine as one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, has been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for the rape of a 21-year-old woman in early 2021.

A jury convicted Zerola in June after prosecutors presented evidence of the January 2021 assault. The incident occurred after Zerola, his then-girlfriend, and their friend had a night out, during which Zerola spent $2,000 on alcohol. After dropping off the friend at her house, Zerola returned and raped her while she slept.

In 2001, Zerola was named one of People Magazine’s most eligible bachelors in America.

To get to know one date, Zerola took her for a pedicure. “I was the only guy in the shop,” he recalls. “It turned a few heads, but we talked the whole time.” the magazine reported.

During the sentencing hearing, a state prosecutor read an impact statement from the victim, who chose not to attend. The statement described her ongoing fear and paranoia, saying, “Every time I’m in my apartment, my door is deadbolted, and I live in constant fear that someone will enter without my permission and hurt me again.”

Zerola, now 52, previously served as an assistant district attorney in Essex County for a year and briefly in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office in 2000.

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