Jury hears 911 tape in 'most eligible bachelor' attempted rape case

January 10, 2008 01:57 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By David Abel, Globe Staff

The young woman who has accused former prosecutor Gary Zerola of attempted rape could be heard screaming on a 911 tape played today during Zerola’s trial in Suffolk Superior Court.

The woman's words were not distinguishable on the tape, which lasted for only a few seconds. The cellphone call came from Zerola's apartment, where the assault allegedly took place in 2006.

The 20-year-old woman testified that she had rejected Zerola's advances, struggling with him and trying unsuccessfully to escape his apartment. She said she told him, "I will not have sex with you. I will not have sex with you. I will not hook up with you."

She also testified that, at one point, Zerola forced her into his bedroom, slamming her head into a door frame.

"He put his hand on my head and pushed it into the door frame. It hurt," she said.

Zerola, 36, who was once picked by People magazine as one of the nation's most eligible bachelors, is facing a variety of charges for allegedly attacking the woman, who was 19 at the time, at his apartment in the early morning hours of Aug. 18, 2006.

She began testifying Wednesday and continued today. Defense attorney Janice Bassil, in opening statements yesterday, questioned her credibility.

Bassil began her cross-examination this afternoon, seeking to cast doubt on the woman's credibility by questioning her about her use of fake IDs to enter nightclubs.

Zerola is also facing rape and other charges in a Feb. 28, 2004, incident involving a different 19-year-old woman. And he was arrested in October on charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted a third woman in Miami Beach.