WOBURN, Mass. — On the first day of testimony in his double rape trial that stretches back nearly four decades, Stephen Paul Gale mostly sat in his wheelchair at his defense table, showing no emotion at all.
[ Trial begins today for man once known as ‘Boston Strip Mall Rapist’ ]
Gale is charged with the 1989 rapes of two women at the Hit or Miss clothing store on Route 9 in Framingham during an armed robbery. After the case was reopened, authorities say new DNA testing led them to Gale.
He was arrested in Los Angeles, California, after a lengthy police chase.
In Middlesex Superior Court, one of the victims took the stand and described the ordeal.
“He had a gun to my head, and I was on my knees, I was convinced I was going to die,” the victim testified.
The victim told the jury that shortly after the Hit or Miss store opened, an armed man ordered her and another worker into the back of the store, where they were forced to take off their clothes, shortly after he robbed the safe.
She said she was raped in a bathroom.
“He said this is our little secret. Don’t tell anyone,” the victim testified. “I was broken, I was so submissive, any bravery I had was gone. I thought he was going to kill me.”
Over the years, composite sketches were created, but authorities say the big break came when physical evidence, which the first victim saved in a tissue, was analyzed.
“The DNA is at least 8.2 octillion more likely if it originated from Stephen Paul Gale,” prosecutor Katharine Folger told the jury. “That man was THE man who walked into that Hit or Miss store on December 27, 1989, and committed those aggravated rapes.”
Gale’s defense attorney is urging the jury to keep an open mind.
“Don’t rush to judgment. ADA Folger just told you A story. A one-sided story, and as we all know, there’s two sides to a story,” defense attorney Debra DeWitt told the jury.
The second rape victim in this case is expected to also testify.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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