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Stephen Gale Wiki – Stephen Gale Biography

A serial predator who raped a mother just one day after being released from jail for sex crimes has been cleared for transfer to open prison where he will be eligible for one day of freedom. Stephen Gale was 33 when he was jailed indefinitely for the savage attack on a woman he followed from a train at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on February 1, 2007.

Maidstone Crown Court was told that he pounced on the woman in the car park of a Morrisons supermarket on Vale Road, near the town’s railway station. Just hours earlier, Gale, who has spent the last 11 years in and out of prison for sex offences, had signed on to Tonbridge Police Station’s sex offender register.

The victim had a knife in his stomach throughout his ordeal and feared he would die. At his sentencing in May 2007, the judge jailed Gale under a rare ‘protection of the public’ order, with a minimum term of five years and 261 days. Judge Andrew Patience QC said at the time that it was “difficult to foresee a time” when it would be considered safe to release Gale.

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Stephen Gale Age

The age of Stephen Gale is 33 years.

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Stephen Gale accused of raping

Gale’s minimum term expired in February 2013. He has so far spent ten more years in jail. At his last parole hearing in 2021, the Parole Board recommended sending Gale to Category D open prison to prepare him for an eventual return to freedom. However, the attorney general rejected the recommendation and ordered Gale to remain locked up in a closed prison. Despite this, following a hearing in April, Gale, now 49, has again been recommended for transfer to open jail at his sixth parole hearing.

The Secretary of Justice had 28 days to intervene but did not. The Parole Board rejected Gale’s appeal to be released on leave. A Parole Board spokesperson said: “The Parole Board rejected the release of Stephen Gale, but recommended a transfer to an open-term prison following an oral hearing in April 2023. ‘This was only a recommendation and the Secretary of State for Justice considers the advice before making the final decision on whether a prisoner is suitable for open conditions.

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“We will only make a recommendation for open conditions if a Parole Board panel is satisfied that the risk to the public has been reduced enough to be manageable in an open prison and if a transfer to an open prison is deemed it is essential to inform future decisions about release.’ MailOnline has obtained the written summary from the Parole Board.

Under the heading of ‘risk assessment’ he says: ‘At the time of committing the offence, these risk factors included his early life experiences, the difficulties he was having in his relationships and his misuse of drugs and alcohol. . “Mr. Gale thought a lot about sex and was willing to commit crimes to satisfy his sexual needs. He believed that men should dominate women and he had a hard time handling extreme emotions.

Referring to the decision to reverse the recommendation that Gale be transferred to open prison, the board states: ‘In 2021, the Parole Board reviewed Mr. Gale’s case and recommended that he should be transferred to open prison. “The Secretary of State rejected that recommendation and his officials felt it was necessary for Mr. Gale to complete more work in a closed prison.”

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The summary adds that Gale had continued his progress in prison with courses on sexual offenses and had worked with prison psychologists to help him deal with his problems. It concludes: ‘After considering the circumstances of his offence, the progress made while he was in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Gale was suitable for his release.

‘However, when considering the criteria for recommending placement in open conditions, the panel recommended that Mr Gale should progress in this manner. It is now up to the Secretary of State to decide whether he accepts the Parole Board’s recommendation. At his trial, the court heard that Mr Gale, who had shaved his knee-length body hair, and the woman traveled on the same train, arriving at Tunbridge Wells at 9:30 p.m. m.

Anne Phillips, the defendant, said that when the woman left the police station, Gale “matched her step for step”. She went up the stairs knowing that Gale was behind her. At one point, Gale walked past her. But when she approached her car, Gale went to her. She blocked his way and warned him, “Do exactly as I tell you or you’ll

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Gale pressed a red-handled knife into her stomach. He became more forceful, before moving her back towards the foyer area of the stairwell and lifts. Gale then stroked her face and grabbed her hair, forcing her onto her knees, before ordering her to perform a sex act on him.

Without warning, he said, ‘I’m bored with all this’, and walked off. The woman ran to her car and drove to Tunbridge Wells police station. Gale admitted rape and assault by penetration. Andrew Patience QC said: ‘Such wicked, cruel and degrading conduct as you made your victim suffer on that night deserves only the severest penalty, both to punish you and to deter and serve as a warning to others.

‘You are, in short, a danger to women.’ His victim said the attack had ruined her life. ‘I am no longer the same mother,’ she said. Speaking after the court hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Thomas said: ‘Stephen Gale’s victim has been incredibly brave and I hope that she may now get some comfort from knowing that he is behind bars and unable to hurt anyone else. ‘Gale is a dangerous man and we are all very pleased that he cannot pose a further threat to women.’ Gale will be eligible for his seventh parole hearing in 2025.Read More……

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