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Trial begins for Stephen Paul Gale, accused of 1989 rapes at Massachusetts clothing store

By
Penny Kmitt
Penny Kmitt
Penny Kmitt
Penny Kmitt is a reporter for WBZ-TV's morning news. She joined the station in December 2023 from CBS-affiliate WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia.
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Penny Kmitt

/ CBS Boston

The trial got underway on Wednesday in a Woburn, Massachusetts for Stephen Paul Gale, charged with violently raping two women decades ago.

In 1989, Gale allegedly walked into the Hit or Miss clothing store in Framingham and asked two female employees for help before pointing a gun at their heads. He allegedly stole money from the store's safe and registers before raping the two women.

Nearly 35 years later, Gale was arrested in California after an 82-minute pursuit with police. U.S. Marshals found him living on a million-dollar yacht off the coast of Los Angeles.  

Prosecutor Katharine Folger described an act by one of the victims more than 35 years ago that led to Gale's 2024 arrest.

"She grabbed a tissue, spit into the tissue, folded it in a plastic Hit or Miss bag, and she hid it," Folger said.

Gale was charged with sexual assault, kidnapping and armed robbery. 

In her opening statement, Folger described one of the victims as "worried she was going to be killed, unaware she was about to be raped."

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Stephen Paul Gale listens on the first day of his Massachusetts rape trial on March 11, 2025. CBS Boston

Prosecutors say DNA collected from the tissue that one of the women spat into after the rape led investigators to the fugitive.

Defense attorney Debra Dewitt called the evidence into question.

"The evidence was collected 35 years ago," Dewitt said.

Dewitt reminded jurors that the prosecution must prove Gale's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The Commonwealth has not met their burden. They have not proven and will not prove that Mr. Gale is guilty of this charge," Dewitt said.

The first witness to the stand Wednesday was a woman named Rae Williams, who testified that the women ran to her home and pounded on her door after escaping from the clothing store.

The judge said the trial could last several weeks.

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