CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – A famous bachelor known for his good looks and good works was acquitted Friday on charges he tried to rape a 19-year-old woman, but still faces allegations of rape from two other young women.
Gary Zerola, 36, was found not guilty on a variety of charges including assault with attempt to rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and battery after a Middlesex County jury deliberated less than a day.
Prosecutors had alleged he tried to rape the woman after charming her with gifts and alcohol. The judge had barred prosecutors from telling jurors about two other rape cases pending against Zerola, who was named one of People Magazine’s “Most Eligible Bachelors” in 2001 because of his looks and work with foster children.
Zerola’s attorney denied Zerola assaulted the woman and attacked her credibility, calling her a party girl and habitual liar who coerced Zerola into buying her expensive gifts.
“We were confident in the case we put before the jury, but we must respect their decision today, and we thank them for their service to the commonwealth,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement. He declined further comment because Zerola still faces a separate trial here in the 2004 rape of another 19-year-old woman. He’s also charged with raping an 18-year-old woman at a Miami Beach hotel in October, when he violated his probation and flew to Florida to watch the Miami Dolphins play the New England Patriots. He told police there he did not have sex with the woman.
In the case decided Friday, Zerola had been accused of attacking the then-19-year-old woman in August 2006 after a night of drinking and taking pain killers while hopping among various bars and nightclubs.
The woman, now 20, testified that Zerola let her drive his Porsche and bought her a $450 Dolce & Gabbana dress and $200 shoes at Neiman Marcus.
She said she told Zerola she wanted to take a cab back to her parent’s house in Newton, but he insisted on giving her a ride. She said Zerola attacked her after they stopped at his apartment to use the bathroom.
The woman said after she repeatedly rejected his sexual advances, he forced her into the bathroom and slammed her forehead against a doorframe. The woman testified that she escaped after she dialed 911 on her cell phone, and Zerola let her go after he saw the blue lights of the police car flashing outside.
Prosecutors played 911 tape with woman screaming at Zerola to stop.
Defense attorney Janice Bassil said the woman made up the story and showed in court a pair of undamaged panties that the woman said Zerola had ripped off.
Bassil said the woman refused to leave Zerola’s apartment, and that the 911 tape was actually a recording of Zerola trying to get her out.
Bassil did not immediately return a call for comment on the acquittal or other pending charges.
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