Middlesex DA names suspect in 1989 rapes of two Framingham retail store employees
WOBURN — Authorities have identified and put out an arrest warrant for a man who was previously known only as the "Boston Rapist," saying he raped two women in 1989 at a Route 9 clothing store in Framingham.
During a press conference Tuesday at the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, DA Marian Ryan said Stephen Paul Gale, 71, raped the two women 35 years ago at the Hit-or-Miss store, which he also robbed.
Once apprehended, Gale faces four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery.
Following the rapes, forensic evidence was collected and investigators were able to develop a DNA profile of the assailant. In 2001, the profile was updated into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a computer software program that operates local, state and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence and missing persons.
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In 2022, Middlesex County prosecutors, as well as the Framingham Police Department, contracted with Parabon NanoLabs, a Virginia-based DNA technology company that develops next-generation forensic products, to assist in conducting investigative genetic genealogy.
"Having identified that information from the lab, we worked with law enforcement partnerships across the country in an attempt to locate Stephen Paul Gale," Ryan said during Tuesday's press conference. "To date, these efforts have been unsuccessful."
Chief Baker praises 'courage and strength' of two rape victims
Framingham Police Chief Lester Baker, also speaking at the conference, praised the work of local police, as well as the determination of the victims to obtain justice.
"With the help of technology and tireless efforts of the Framingham Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services, we are here today with an arrest warrant for this horrific crime," Baker said. "Not enough can be said about the two women who were victims of this crime. Their courage and their strength ought to be commended."
Ryan said during the press conference that there were "similar cases" in Greater Boston that were believed to have been committed by the same assailant. In fact, a 1990 episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" tied the Framingham rapes to others committed in a store in Boston and at a medical clinic in Braintree. The show dubbed the then-unknown assailant the "Boston Rapist" or the "Strip Mall Rapist."
Ryan said Gale has used several aliases over the years, and since the early 1990s he has lived in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Ryan added that Gale has strong ties to Phoenix, as well as to cities in Texas, Utah and Florida.
$5,000 offered for information leading to suspect's apprehension
The last known sighting of Gale was during a 2007 family gathering, according to Ryan. She did not disclose where, although she said it was "in the United States," but not in Massachusetts.
There is a $5,000 reward for information that leads to Gale's apprehension. People can contact the Framingham Police Department tip line at 508-532-5900 or visiting the U.S. Marshals website at www.usmarshals.gov.
Ryan stressed, as she has on several other occasions, that older cases "are never closed."
"In this case, it's been 30 to 40 years," she said. "You think about the lives that have been lived by the two women affected by this incident. But despite the passage of time, what the clear message from this office is we do not stop working on these cases."
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Suspect named in 1989 rapes of two Framingham retail store employees
