Rape Suspect Wanted For 1989 Mass. Crimes Leads LA Police On Chase: Reports

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 71-year-old man wanted in connection with a series of rapes three decades ago in Massachusetts was arrested in Los Angeles Thursday after leading police on a lengthy chase across the county, according to reports.

Stephen Paul Gale was indicted on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery in May in connection to the rape of two women who were working at a suburban Massachusetts clothing store in 1989. DNA evidence helped link Gale to the case, which had gone cold for more than three decades, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

He's also wanted for questioning in connection to a series of similar rapes that occurred in 1989 and 1990 in the Boston area, the U.S. Marshals service said.

Gale was identified as the man arrested after Thursday's chase by WCVB in Boston and Fox News.

After he was indicted earlier this year, U.S. Marshals and state authorities mounted a search for Gale, offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information about his whereabouts.

Gale lived in several other states, used multiple aliases and previously had ties to organized crime, making it difficult to locate him, Fox News reported.

Thursday's chase in LA County began around 4 p.m. in San Pedro. He led officers on a chase inside the Port of LA before getting on the northbound 110 Freeway, then the 405 Freeway before exiting onto surface streets near LAX, KTLA reported.

The suspect drove at moderate speeds, only hitting 60 mph for a moment, while obeying most traffic signals.

Police unsuccessfully attempted several PIT maneuvers and the suspect was able to avoid two spike strips before running over a third on Lindbrook Drive after getting off the 405 Freeway another time, KTLA reported.

Finding himself on Medical Plaza Drive in Westwood with nowhere to go, the suspect stopped his vehicle as officers surrounded it with their guns drawn.

KTLA reported that he appeared to have physical issues that made it difficult for him to exit the car and stand on his own. After police put him in custody, he was removed from the back of a cruiser and placed in a wheelchair.

An LAPD representative Thursday was unable to confirm to Patch details about the arrest.

In the 1989 attacks, Gale posed as a customer at a clothing store and pulled out a gun, ordering two female workers to go to the back of the store in separate rooms, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. He fled after raping them while holding a gun to their heads, prosecutors allege.

Amid ongoing media attention for the case, Massachusetts authorities in 2022 ordered genetic forensic genealogy testing that helped identify Gale as the suspect, WCVB reported.