Former Eligible Bachelor Who Had Been On The Run Surrenders

BOSTON —Police on Friday arrested a former prosecutor-turned-defense attorney who was once named to People magazine's 50 most eligible bachelors list.

Gary Zerola, 49, was expected to be arraigned on charges of rape and breaking and entering Friday afternoon. Police had asked for the public's help in locating Zerola earlier this week. He turned himself in to Boston police at 12:50 p.m. Friday, shortly after police located a car registered to him.

Investigators have not released additional details about his arrest or the incident that led to the charges against him.

Zerola has been charged but not convicted on four previous sex offenses. The most recent charge from November 2016 is still pending. But in 2008, he was acquitted of sexual assault charges in Massachusetts following two jury trials in 2008. After those acquittals, prosecutors in Florida dropped rape charges pending against him in Miami.

Read Dave Copeland's coverage of Zerola's first, 2008 rape trial.

Zerola, who lists addresses in Salem and Boston, grew up in Lynn. He spent time in foster homes starting when he was 2 years old.

Zerola graduated from Lynn Vocational Technical Institute in 1989 and earned his bachelor's and law degrees at Suffolk University. After finishing law school, Zerola worked as a prosecutor for the Essex County District Attorney's office before moving on to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. He stepped down from that position in 2000 after appearing at an arraignment for a friend who had been arrested for ransacking his ex-girlfriend's apartment and threatening to kill her against his supervisor's wishes.

Zerola started a private practice after leaving the DA's office in 2000. In 2001 People named him to the magazine's Most Eligible Bachelors list, which led to him appearing on syndicated legal shows, including Judge Hatchett and Power of Attorney. That year's list also included Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

In 2006, he was indicted for an alleged, 2004 sexual assault of a woman he met in a Boston night club and an alleged, 2006 sexual assault of a different woman. Both victims were 19 at the time. Zerola was acquitted in both cases in following jury trials in 2008.

While out on $50,000 bail and awaiting trial on those charges, Zerola attended a Patriots game in Miami. According to police reports, Zerola met an 18-year-old Florida International University student at Club Mansion in South Beach and forced her to take pills until she passed out after taking her back to his hotel room. When the woman woke up, she "felt pain all over her body." The woman fled the room and called a friend, who called police. "I never had sex with her," Zerola said when the officers arrived, according to court records.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).