Fugitive suspect in 1989 rapes allegedly mutilated fingers to avoid identification, was living on yacht before recent arrest



A man wanted for two 1989 Massachusetts rapes was arrested earlier this month after he was found living on a luxury yacht in Los Angeles, police said.

Investigators said 71-year-old Stephen Paul Gale had been on the run after law enforcement said DNA evidence linked him to the rapes.

'He has funds to have private attorneys, live on a yacht, and drive a Lincoln. But his money will not help him with our case .

Gale was indicted in April for raping at gunpoint two women who were working at a clothing store in Framingham in 1989. He also was indicted for kidnapping and armed robbery.

Police believe Gale suspected that he was being watched at the L.A. Marina because he was able to race away from officers who gave chase Aug. 8. Police used spike strips to disable his vehicle, after which they arrested him in the Westwood Medical Plaza

Officials are looking to extradite him to Massachusetts to face trial.

One of Gale's alleged victims told WCVB-TV she was relieved that he was finally caught.

"I have waited for Gale's apprehension for 34 long years" the woman said. "I was 18 years old when I was raped while working at a retail clothing store during my college winter break. It has been nothing short of incredible investigative work and strength from his victims to continue our fight for justice."

She claimed Gale had mutilated his fingers in order to prevent his identification and had assumed numerous aliases.

"He has been living like royalty and had no issue walking a narrow boardwalk over water and driving to avoid arrest for 90 minutes," she continued. "He has funds to have private attorneys, live on a yacht, and drive a Lincoln. But his money will not help him with our case; we have him with solid DNA evidence, and two victims that have never forgotten his face and [have] never given up finding him."

One of the suspect's neighbors told WCVB that he could not believe the accusations. He described the improvements he was making to his yacht in order to sell it and buy a bigger yacht.

"I am so shocked. I am absolutely stunned," said Don Smollett.

"Everything you can imagine new went into that boat. Electronics and everything. I couldn't afford anything like what they were putting on that boat. So he had money to do that," he added.

"You never know who you talk to anymore, huh," Smollett concluded.

Gale was held on $2 million bail.

Video of the yacht and the police chase of the alleged rapist was published by WCVB-TV on YouTube.

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San Francisco sued for adding victim's DNA from rape kit to police database, using it to arrest her on unrelated burglary charges



On Monday, a sexual assault victim filed a lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco for storing her DNA collected from a rape kit in the police database. The suit alleged that her DNA was stored without her consent and later used to arrest her on unrelated burglary charges.

The victim, only identified as Jane Doe in court documents, also filed the lawsuit against the police chief, the crime lab director, the criminalist, and an officer for the San Francisco Police Department.

Another 50 unidentified defendants were listed in the court filing, Fox News reported. The case accused the unnamed defendants of negligence and breach of duty.

The lawsuit stated that Jane Doe provided a DNA sample to the police department in 2016 to investigate the victim's sexual assault. However, Doe claimed that she never agreed that her DNA would be stored in a permanent database or used for any other purposes.

"There are reportedly thousands of people who are being subjected to this arbitrary, unlawful unconstitutional invasion of privacy," the case read. "Plaintiff Jane Doe, a sexual assault survivor, was re-victimized by this unconstitutional practice."

The police department is being accused of storing the DNA unlawfully for at least six years. The lawsuit alleged her DNA would have been "tested in thousands of criminal investigations" during that timeframe.

Jane Doe was arrested in December 2021 because her DNA allegedly linked her to a burglary. However, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin dropped the charges against Doe after discovering how the DNA was collected and added to the police database.

The lawsuit alleged that the unlawful practice violated the victim's constitutional rights and caused pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Doe is seeking an unspecified payout for damages and the removal of her DNA from the database.

The San Francisco Police Department told Fox News that it could not comment on pending litigation.

In a February statement, SFPD Chief William Scott said, "We must never create disincentives for crime victims to cooperate with police, and if it's true that DNA collected from a rape or sexual assault victim has been used by SFPD to identify and apprehend that person as a suspect in another crime, I'm committed to ending the practice."

"I am informed that our existing DNA collection policies have been legally vetted and conform with state and national forensic standards," Scott stated. He reported that the police department's DNA collection practices are currently being reviewed.