A former Massachusetts prosecutor found guilty of rape was sentenced Monday to 5-10 years in prison.
Gary Zerola, 52, was found guilty last month. In 2021, prosecutors said he broke into the home of a 21-year-old woman in Boston and sexually assaulted her while she slept.
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Zerola had previously been accused of other sexual assaults but wasn’t convicted in those cases. He had faced two rape charges in Suffolk County and was acquitted in 2023, according to the district’s attorney’s office. He also was charged in three sexual assault cases between 2006 and 2007, but was not convicted.
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Superior Court Judge Mary K. Ames sentenced Zerola to 5-10 years in prison on Monday morning. His sentence will be served in Norfolk County.
Prosecutors had requested a 9-13 year prison sentence, while the defense recommended 2-3 years.
Zerola, of Salem, is a criminal defense attorney who has served as a prosecutor in Essex and Suffolk counties and was once listed by People Magazine as a top bachelor.
The victim did not attend Monday's sentencing, saying she is still haunted by the incident.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum read a victim impact statement where she said she remains "extremely hypervigilant and scared" and doesn't even bother to date anymore. She said the rape has had "a significant and insidious effect" on her life and asked that Zerola receive the maximum sentence.
She said she had recurring nightmares for months afterward and still has nightmares to this day of someone breaking into her apartment and trying to assault her.
"As much as I try to be strong and continue to work hard to prove this incident has little effect on my life, I fear that I will be impacted by this for the rest of my life," the victim wrote in her statement. "Given that I will have to live with this pain forever, I believe Mr. Zerola should receive consequences proportionate to the damage he has caused. I request that Mr. Zerola receive the maximum sentence for his crime."
Zerola's defense attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. made the case that Zerola should receive a lesser sentence.
He said Zerola is the youngest of seven children, and was uncared for and unloved by his parents and grew up in an abusive home which Krowski referred to as a "house of horrors." Zerola's brother outlined their difficult upbringing in a letter of support submitted to the court.
"This is the background that Gary Zerola comes from," Krowski Jr. said. "The fact that he was able to put a life together is nothing short of remarkable."
The defense attorney also cited Zerola's charitable efforts, raising money and clothes for foster children. He was even recognized for that work by former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
Krowski Jr. also spoke of the difficulty of Zerola entering prison at age 52, with significant health issues, saying he suffers from a rare and potentially fatal form of eye cancer.
"There's no way to say this -- no rape is good," Krowski Jr. said, arguing against the prosecution's sentencing request. "But the allegations to the extent proven in this case certainly don't distinguish them from another type of rape... There's nothing unique about these facts."
“These cases are always difficult, and this victim deserves enormous credit for taking the stand and telling the jury what happened to her that night,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement after the verdict.
Zerola's attorney Joseph Krowski Jr. said Monday that his client is appealing the conviction. He said the sentence wasn't what they wanted, but was within or close to the recommended guideline range for somebody without a previous criminal record. He pointed out that Zerola had been acquitted on two of the three original charges.
Krowski Jr. said his client was doing “as well as could be expected under the circumstances” and was going to put his time to good use and come out of the experience for the better.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
