Salem Defense Lawyer Held Without Bail On Rape Charge

BOSTON — A criminal defense attorney and former state prosecutor was ordered held without bail on a rape charge following a dangerousness hearing Thursday.

Gary Zerola, 49, of Salem, was arraigned last week in Boston Municipal Court on charges of rape and breaking and entering with felony intent.

"The court agreed with our position that Mr. Zerola is a danger to the community," Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement.

Prosecutors said Zerola met a woman at a Jan. 11 gathering and accompanied her back to her apartment with a friend of theirs. Prosecutors said the woman woke up the next morning to find Zerola, who had returned to her apartment without permission, sexually assaulting her.

Zerola had been out on $10,000 bond in another case out of Suffolk County Superior Court in which he was charged with the 2016 rape of a woman. He had been charged but not convicted of three sex offenses before that.

"He has a history of rape allegations dating back to 1996," Rollins said.

Zerola was an assistant district attorney in Essex and Suffolk Counties in 2000, according to Rollins' office. In 2001, he was named one of America's most eligible bachelors by People magazine.