The "Boston Rapist", who was featured on the May 2, 1990 episode (which was not included in the Amazon/Filmrise release of the show), has been identified through genetic genealogy as seventy-one-year-old Stephen Paul Gale. He has been indicted on several counts of rape and kidnapping; however, he has not yet been located.

The Boston Rapist had targeted a medical clinic near Boston just before Christmas in 1989 and then targeted a women's clothing store in Framingham a few days later, raping both of the women who worked there. Gale has been charged in connection with the Framingham case.

This was a case that I was not sure would ever be solved, especially since there was a (clearly false) rumor that the statute of limitations had expired.

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/framingham-unsolved-case-announcement/3368543/

https://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/man-71-charged-decades-old-framingham-sexual-assaults

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Boston_Rapist

https://www.masslive.com/resizer/v2/XWC6AQHJR5CFHMHFL3UQFEOSVI.jpg?auth=15e8919a2f296906756676688ecb1532cc18ba5c36014c85c49e417fea9c0eb9&width=500&quality=90

Very close to the sketch.

Wow. That’s amazing. Now they just need to find the bum. But one huge hurdle down.

What I always remembered about this segment was the depressing fact that the nurse was just minutes away from going home to spend Christmas Eve with her loved ones when this maniac assaulted her.

Hopefully they find him soon.

One of the most gut wrenching segments ever profiled on the show. I hope he'll be captured soon.

I never thought this one would be solved, and am pretty shocked. I'm excited to think what this means for other cases that seemed impossible to resolve after the passage of so much time.

One of the most gut wrenching segments ever profiled on the show. I hope he'll be captured soon.

I never thought this one would be solved, and am pretty shocked. I'm excited to think what this means for other cases that seemed impossible to resolve after the passage of so much time.

this is a segment that I only saw for the first time in the last few years. Glad to hear it has been solved! It was a very scary segment. hopefully they catch him soon.

this is a segment that I only saw for the first time in the last few years. Glad to hear it has been solved! It was a very scary segment. hopefully they catch him soon.

It aired on Lifetime quite a bit. Just another segment that never made it to FilmRise for some reason.

Continues to show that when they got your DNA, there is always a chance they will find you. Those familial DNA sites are gold for this. Hopefully they catch this scumbag. Just wonder where he was last known to be and if he is still alive? If he hasn't been seen by anyone in years there is a chance he might be deceased. Hopefully he faces justice.

It aired on Lifetime quite a bit. Just another segment that never made it to FilmRise for some reason.

Especially when, at the time, the guy had yet to be identified.
This one stuck with me for the same reasons as many of you too. You just want to get done with your Christmas Eve as quietly as possible and get home to enjoy the holiday, and a horrible thing like this happens.

Great news! What a total scum.

The segment is viewable by searching “Miss Teri Boston” on a certain site. It’s harrowing.

Continues to show that when they got your DNA, there is always a chance they will find you. Those familial DNA sites are gold for this. Hopefully they catch this scumbag. Just wonder where he was last known to be and if he is still alive? If he hasn't been seen by anyone in years there is a chance he might be deceased. Hopefully he faces justice.

I hate to be a downer but I'm really discouraged to hear that nobody has seen this guy in years and he has been known to use different alias'.

Thinking of the poor victims who finally know who this guy is (which I guess is one less weight off their backs) but it's kind of wasted if law enforcement can't find the evil scum. I really hope he is located.

I saw this on my news feed and was very surprised he was identified, as I thought this case would never be solved. The article I read said he has ties to organized crime so I can only assume he may have friends there that helped him escape capture. Just goes to show how powerful DNA is.

It aired on Lifetime quite a bit. Just another segment that never made it to FilmRise for some reason.

ok, then I guess it's possible that I saw it between 2003-2007 when I was watching on Lifetime. the glory days of my UM viewership.

I just checked the Unsolved Mysteries wiki page, looks like its already been updated with this info, good to see they keep a close eye on it.

Apparently, Gale hasn't been seen since 2007 at some sort of a family function. That's a long time, seventeen years. Ironically enough, that was seventeen years after the rape. So I'm assuming that means he broke off contact with known family members and friends back then and disappeared. You wonder why he would at that point, unless of course he was feeling the heat for some other crime. Find it hard to believe these were the only rapes he committed.

But that's a pretty long time, sounds to me like he could be dead, but I'm sure the authorities know more than we do and may have reason to believe he is alive and just haven't contacted the right people who've been around him. Unless he is out in the woods living off the grid in a Rambo like life he's bound to have been in contact with someone.

I haven't seen the episode but based on the information in the article and the sketch I believe he may be in Arlen, Texas using the alias "Bobby Hill".

I remember LifeTime reruns showing this case and always wondered if the perp would ever be found.

As for not making it to FilmRise, it was mistakenly thought that the statute of limitations had expired on the 1989 rapes, so Unsolved Mysteries' producers told FilmRise not to add it. Now that we know that's not the case, I wonder if the full segment will be added to streaming?

On a side note, the Sacred Heart Church John Doe case was also mistakenly omitted because Unsolved Mysteries producers thought he was already identified or that the case was closed, but that too was debunked. Not sure if it's been added. I used to have both cases on my old laptop before it died, and wasn't able to transfer all those segments to a flash drive beforehand.

I remember LifeTime reruns showing this case and always wondered if the perp would ever be found.

While the actor did a good job, he looked nothing like the composite drawing and the description of the attacker. The real guy was said close to be balding with a potbelly. Surprising choice of actor to use.

Looking back at it now, I remember first viewing this segment as a 4th grader when it originally aired. I was really kind of creeped out over the victims interviews. They were featured in silhouette (shadow), pixilated AND in voice disguise (one woman low, one higher pitch). So they had the complete trifecta in order to hide their identities. Understandable on their part but always a little unsettling. I also learned what the word ‘rape’ was because of this segment.

As for not making it to FilmRise, it was mistakenly thought that the statute of limitations had expired on the 1989 rapes, so Unsolved Mysteries' producers told FilmRise not to add it. Now that we know that's not the case, I wonder if the full segment will be added to streaming?


Other segments where the statute of limitations had run out were included, so it cannot simply be that they excluded it because of the statute of limitations. Also, they supposedly had a legal team review these things, hard to imagine they would have gotten it wrong to start with.

The criteria given for including or excluding segments was opaque and in some cases contradictory. I'm doubtful they will add it to the remixed releases available on Amazon, etc.

I have to admit, I never thought he would ever be identified. And, I figured the SOL would be a factor in LE using any future DNA testing (e.g. FGG).

I must say also that I'm happy for his victims to finally know who it was. Whether or not he ever is found, or not, at least that face and that name will forever be saddled with the moniker of 'the Boston Rapist'.

Something I do find curious is that most of the reports say that Gale has been indicted on four counts of aggravated rape. Yet, all of the stories only make mention of the December 27th, 1989 assaults in the clothing store. No mention is made of the December 24th, 1989 assault(s) at the clinic.

Do the four counts of aggravated rape include the assault(s) from the clinic?

The part where she breaks down but in distorted voice it still gets me

Caught him!

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-police-in-pursuit-of-possible-serial-sexual-assault-suspect/

Just saw this !

https://www.masslive.com/news/2024/08/suspect-in-1989-framingham-rapes-arrested-in-la-after-police-chase-reports-say.html

Caught him!

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-police-in-pursuit-of-possible-serial-sexual-assault-suspect/

Wow. I continue to be astonished over how many cases are still getting solved over 30+ years later. I'm so happy he got caught.

I'd love to hear a statement from the victims. I'm sure this is weight that's FINALLY off their backs.

I'll never forget teenaged me watching this segment in the summer of 1997, while visiting American relatives who had the Lifetime channel, and expecting to hear the 'Update' music at the end of it, followed by massive disappointment when that didn't happen. I didn't see that segment again for another eight years, when it got uploaded online somewhere (not YouTube, that was still in its infancy at the time) and a link to it was posted here.

That 'Lifetime' sketch got a lot of online mockery, saying that it made him look like an adult Bobby Hill (from King of the Hill), but it turned out to be the most accurate. It's a dead ringer for his 1995 driver's license photo. I also remember, from when I watched the segment for the first time, exclaiming how the sketch made him look so fat, when the reenactment actor wasn't fat at all. UM re-used the guy a year later for the Ethel Kidd segment (he portrayed the hunter who found Ethel tied to the tree).

His capture is the best news I've heard in such a long time. I had a feeling he was not a Boston/Massachusetts local (if he had had a Boston accent I'm sure it would have been mentioned at some point), so it's not surprising he was captured on the West Coast.

Its good they know who this idiot is!!

Wow. I continue to be astonished over how many cases are still getting solved over 30+ years later. I'm so happy he got caught.

I'd love to hear a statement from the victims. I'm sure this is weight that's FINALLY off their backs.

YES! I'm glad they found this monster while he was still alive. It sounds like he couldn't walk? I wonder what that is all about. so glad that justice can still be possible after all these years.

I'll never forget teenaged me watching this segment in the summer of 1997, while visiting American relatives who had the Lifetime channel, and expecting to hear the 'Update' music at the end of it, followed by massive disappointment when that didn't happen. I didn't see that segment again for another eight years, when it got uploaded online somewhere (not YouTube, that was still in its infancy at the time) and a link to it was posted here.

That 'Lifetime' sketch got a lot of online mockery, saying that it made him look like an adult Bobby Hill (from King of the Hill), but it turned out to be the most accurate. It's a dead ringer for his 1995 driver's license photo. I also remember, from when I watched the segment for the first time, exclaiming how the sketch made him look so fat, when the reenactment actor wasn't fat at all. UM re-used the guy a year later for the Ethel Kidd segment (he portrayed the hunter who found Ethel tied to the tree).

His capture is the best news I've heard in such a long time. I had a feeling he was not a Boston/Massachusetts local (if he had had a Boston accent I'm sure it would have been mentioned at some point), so it's not surprising he was captured on the West Coast.
Just when I think that I knew a lot about UM, I really am surprised to find out so much more information as I did not know any of this stuff. and this segment is legit one of the scariest I've ever watched, even as an adult. I'm glad it's finally solved and he is in jail hopefully the rest of his life.

Just when I think that I knew a lot about UM, I really am surprised to find out so much more information as I did not know any of this stuff. and this segment is legit one of the scariest I've ever watched, even as an adult. I'm glad it's finally solved and he is in jail hopefully the rest of his life.

I can still remember seeing the segment as a ten-year-old. Being so young, it's nerve wrecking to see him force the one nurse tie up the other nurse and doctor. But then in the back of my head, I thought the worst part was over. He'll probably rob the place and lock the remaining nurse in a closet or something. But then he points the gun at her and tells her to take her clothes off. It's just....horrible.

Great news! What a total scum.

The segment is viewable by searching “Miss Teri Boston” on a certain site. It’s harrowing.


That stupid "forbidden site" just took down his/her whole UM channel a few days ago! lol. I was able to save many of his/her old "rare UM" segments. But there were a lot more that I should have saved to my laptop or flash-drive. I thought their YT UM site would always be there. They still have plenty on their 'UM Facebook' channel, but its not as good.

That stupid "forbidden site" just took down his/her whole UM channel a few days ago! lol. I was able to save many of his/her old "rare UM" segments. But there were a lot more that I should have saved to my laptop or flash-drive. I thought their YT UM site would always be there. They still have plenty on their 'UM Facebook' channel, but its not as good.

Send those my way. I didn't get to save them either.

Didn't see it posted elsewhere so I thought I would share. Of course, he has pled "not guilty".

Man accused of raping 2 women at Mass. clothing store in 1989 faces judge | boston25news.com (https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/man-accused-raping-2-women-mass-clothing-store-1989-face-judge/FD2MT4X36ZHIXEG4XXPTJETHY4/)

Stephen Paul Gale, a 71-year-old once known as the “Boston Strip Mall Rapist,” is slated to be arraigned in Middlesex District Court on charges including four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery in connection with an investigation into the gunpoint rape of two women at the Hit or Miss store on Route 9 in Framingham on the morning of Dec. 27, 1989.

...

Prosecutors outline DNA sleuthing that led to ID'ing Stephen Paul Gale as rape suspect | WCVB Channel 5 Boston | YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUukVSVz8Y0)

...

Suspected rapist, con man Stephen Paul Gale returned to Massachusetts to face charges in 35-year cold case | WCVB.com (https://www.wcvb.com/article/stephen-paul-gale-return-massachusetts/64088768)

...

I'll admit, I never thought he would be identified. Thanks to IGG, he was. And even then, because of his last known whereabouts being in 2007, I assumed he was long gone. I can't imagine the satisfaction of the families and victims involved to see this man finally have to answer for his crimes.

Its amazing they didnt give up after 35 years! (Dont they usually??)