The Boston man who led Los Angeles law enforcement on an hour-long chase more than a year and a half ago was found guilty Tuesday in Massachusetts of raping two women back in 1989.
The jury found Stephen Paul Gale, 73, guilty on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and a single count of armed robbery.
After the verdict, the two survivors told the judge how this has impacted them.
“From that moment on, my life was never the same. I tried not to let that define me, but there were things I could not control,” said one of the victims. “Insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, loud noises would send me running out of stores. These struggles followed me all my life.”
Gale will have an opportunity to address the judge when he is sentenced on Monday.
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Gale was identified through DNA testing as the suspect in a series of rapes in the Boston area from 1989 to 1990.
At the time, he was known as the “Boston Strip Mall Rapist.”
He allegedly robbed a store in Framingham, located about 20 miles west of Boston, just two days after Christmas in 1989 and sexually assaulted two female employees while holding a gun to their heads.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Gale was on the run for years before he was publicly identified and was last seen in 2008. Information about Gale was distributed nationwide. Investigators also said he once had ties to organized crime.
According to WCVB-TV, sources said Gale was found aboard a yacht named The Dior anchored at Seacoast Yachts in Wilmington when police closed in on Aug. 8.
Police believe Gale suspected he was being watched when he got in his SUV and took off, leading police on a lengthy chase.
The chase lasted just over an hour. Gale was driving a dark Lincoln SUV and drove on the 405 Freeway and on surface streets, mostly driving at a moderate rate of speed and obeying stop signs.
For the majority of the chase, he was able to avoid spike strips and PIT maneuver attempts. However, Gale ran over a spike strip in the Westwood area and at least one tire went flat.
He didn’t slow down after the spike strip but ultimately, he was taken into custody near the UCLA medical area.
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