WOBURN, Mass. —

One year after the suspect in a 1989 Massachusetts rape case was caught following a police chase through Los Angeles, Stephen Paul Gale's prosecution is creeping closer to trial.

Gale is charged in connection with the rape of two women at a retail store in Framingham on Dec. 27, 1989. The victims said he was armed with a gun.

In 2021, the women began a renewed push to have their case investigated using modern technology, and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced in 2024 that DNA evidence was used to identify Gale as a suspect.

CLICK HERE for a map of key moments in this case

Authorities eventually tracked Stephen Paul Gale to Los Angeles, and when they moved to arrest him on Aug. 8, 2024, he took off, leading police on a chase through the streets and fre

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