Police have finally identified the man accused of sexually assaulting women at a Framingham department store in the 1980s, as the “horrific” rape case has “haunted” the community for decades.
Stephen Paul Gale, 71, has been identified and charged in connection with the 34-year-old rape case at the Hit or Miss Store, police announced on Tuesday.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to Gale’s arrest. The suspect would face four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery of two women from the assault more than three decades ago.
Back on Dec. 27, 1989, a white man — now ID’d as Gale — entered the department store on Route 9 in the morning. The man showed a .357 Magnum handgun, and forced two female employees to the back of the store, police said.
He made one of the women empty the money from a locked safe, the store’s register and her pocketbook into a bag. He made the second victim lock the doors, and put a sign on the front door saying the store would open late.
Gale is then accused of forcing the women to take off their clothes and placed them in separate rooms. He sexually assaulted both women while holding the gun to their heads, police said. When Gale returned to the front of the store, the women fled out the rear fire door to a nearby home.
Police collected evidence, and obtained the suspect’s DNA. A DNA profile was developed for the suspect and uploaded to the CODIS database in 2001, but there were never any hits identifying the suspect.
Then two years ago, Middlesex DA prosecutors and the Framingham Police contracted with Parabon Nanolabs to conduct an investigative genetic genealogy to try to develop new leads to ID the suspect.
After additional police investigation, DNA samples were obtained from members of Gale’s family. This DNA evidence provided probable cause to identify Gale and led to Tuesday’s arrest warrant.
“Today’s announcement comes as a result of persistent investigatory work and a collaborative effort across law enforcement agencies nationwide,” Middlesex DA Marian Ryan said. “When I started our Cold Case Unit in 2019 I made a commitment to pursuing all available options to provide answers for victims.
“I am grateful for the efforts made so far to locate Mr. Gale and I hope that by raising the profile of this case across the country, we will locate him so that he can be held accountable for his alleged actions,” Ryan added.
Gale has been known to use the aliases Stephen Pisarcik, John Rossi, Paul Costa, Paul DeRosa, Paul DiCarli, Paul Joseph DeCarlo, Steve Miner, Paul Williams, and Paul Ptaszynski.
He is last known to be living in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He also may have ties to Arizona, Texas, Utah and Florida. He previously has been identified as having ties to organized crime. He stands 5’11” and weighs about 200 pounds.
“First and foremost,” said Framingham Police Chief Lester Baker, “I’d like to acknowledge the victims for their bravery. Without their ongoing help and courage, we would never have been able to finally have a break in this horrific crime.
“It’s been a long time coming, over thirty years now, and I am grateful to now have the opportunity to finally tell them — and their loved ones — that all of their efforts have not been in vain,” Baker added. “This crime has haunted the Framingham community for decades, but none of us ever gave up hope or forgot about them.”
Police are urging anyone with information regarding Gale’s location to contact the Framingham Police Department at 508-532-5923.
Tips can be called into the U.S. Marshals Boston Tipline at 1-877-WANTED2 (926-8332) or by using the USMS Tips App.
