U.S. Marshals Major Case Fugitive from Massachusetts Arrested After Police Chase in Los Angeles NR24229dm

Los Angeles: Suspected serial rapist, 71-year-old Stephen Paul Gale, was arrested in the City of Los Angeles on August 8, 2024. Gale was a United States Marshals Service (USMS) major case fugitive in the District of Massachusetts.

Gale was taken into custody following a one-and-a-half-hour pursuit with the Los Angeles Police Department. Gale was recently identified through genetic genealogy as the suspect responsible for a series of rapes in Boston from 1989 to 1990. At the time, the unknown suspect was called the Boston Strip Mall Rapist. Gale was on the run for several years before he was publicly identified as the suspect and was last seen in 2008. The USMS in the District of Massachusetts adopted the case in March 2024, at the request of our local partners, Framingham Police Department, Massachusetts State Police VFAS (Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section), and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The investigation was elevated to a Major Case, with a $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to his arrest.

On August 8, 2024, USMS Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF), and the Los Angeles Police Department Gang and Narcotics Division, began conducting surveillance to locate Gale. Gang and Narcotics detectives located Gale in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles. As they moved in to arrest Gale, he fled from detectives and a pursuit ensued with patrol officers from LAPD’s Harbor Area.

Gale surrendered to pursuing units near the 700 block of Westwood Plaza in Los Angeles. He will be extradited back to Boston to face the pending charges against him.