A Boston lawyer once named a "most eligible bachelor" by People Magazine was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted in the rape of an intoxicated 21-year-old woman while she slept.
Gary Zerola, a 52-year-old former prosecutor, was previously accused of sexual assault by nearly a dozen women dating back to 1996, but was never convicted until last month, according to court records, The Boston Globe reported.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum read a victim impact statement at Zerola's sentencing Monday.
"Even today, I still have nightmares of someone breaking into my apartment and trying to assault me," Polumbaum read, according to WCVB-TV. "Since he committed this crime, I have experienced an extreme sense of paranoia. Every time I am in my apartment my door is deadbolted, and I live in constant fear that someone will enter without my permission and hurt me again."
Invesigators said in January 2021, the victim was drinking with Zerola and his girlfriend. The victim became drunk and Zerola helped her into her apartment, only to return later to rape her while she lay unconscious.
Zerola's defense attorney argued for a lesser sentence, claiming his client grew up in a "house of horrors" where he was abused by his parents.
"This is the background that Gary Zerola comes from," attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. said, according to WBTS-TV. "The fact that he was able to put a life together is nothing short of remarkable."
Zerola was acquitted of aggravated rape and burglary in the case.
He will spend a minimum of five years behind bars.
