A teacher at a prestigious Massachusetts private school will not be prosecuted for allegedly grooming and molesting several girls because of the state’s age of consent laws.
Veteran history teacher Matthew S. Rutledge was accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom identified themselves.
The close-knit school charges fees ranging from $6,800 per year to $43,800 for a day student, while the international boarding school costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior was supposedly an open secret.
The Berkshire district attorney’s office declined to prosecute Rutledge because the age of consent is 16 in Massachusetts, and the alleged victims were all 16 at the time, according to the Boston Globe.
However, he allegedly groomed two of the women when they were 14 and 15 years old, before they began sexual relations when they were 16 years old.
A teacher at a prestigious Massachusetts private school will not be prosecuted for allegedly grooming and molesting several girls because of the state’s age of consent laws. (Pictured: Teacher Matthew Rutledge with one of the accusers, Melissa Fares)
Matthew S. Rutledge was accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom identified themselves. (Pictured: Rutledge with accuser Hilary F. Simon)
The lawyer representing the women, Eric MacLeish, criticized the age of consent legislation as a “terrible law” that is at odds with what is happening nationally.
‘How can anyone say there can be consent with a teacher 30 years older than a student?’ MacLeish said.
MacLeish added that one of her clients, former student Melissa Fares, was not informed that Rutledge was not being charged until it was published in the media.
He also rejected allegations that his clients consented to having sex with Rutledge, regardless of their age.
“We strongly disagree with the district attorney’s decision in this case,” he said in an interview with the Boston Globe.
District Attorney Timothy Shugrue issued a statement describing the decision.
“Massachusetts law sets the age of consent at 16. While the alleged behavior is deeply troubling, it is not illegal,” he said.
‘Investigations into allegations of child abuse are inherently complex and require scrutiny.
“Our office, as well as our partner law enforcement agencies, will not expedite the investigation in order to reach an expeditious conclusion.”
Rutledge resigned in March of this year after the allegations became public.
The allegations first came to light when Fares posted on an alumni Facebook page saying that Rutledge had sexually assaulted her between 2007 and 2010 when she was a student.
Veteran history teacher Matthew S. Rutledge has been accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom have been identified.
The close-knit school charges fees ranging from $6,800 per year to $43,800 for a day student, while the international boarding school costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior was supposedly an open secret.
Fares’ post had a domino effect.
This led another former student, Hilary Simon, to write in the same private group describing her alleged harassment and assault by Rutledge between 2001 and 2005.
Simon told the Globe earlier this year that Rutledge kissed her and told her he loved her at her graduation celebration in 2005.
She said she told a school official about his behavior, but no one spoke to her about it again.
“The school was very, very aware of what he was doing,” he said in an April 2024 interview. “And they didn’t stop him.”
Fares filed a civil lawsuit against Rutledge accusing him of assault. He also targets Miss Hall’s school alleging negligence.
She described Rutledge as a popular and charismatic teacher who began making advances when she was just 15 years old.
The flirting escalated into groping and explicit comments, and after she turned 17, he had sexual relations with her in his classroom, according to the former student. She said she did not consent to the initial sexual encounters.
Meanwhile, Simon said Rutledge groped her in a van in front of several other students. A student reported the incident to school administrators, but Simon said they did not investigate.
The school even held an assembly to warn students against spreading “rumors,” he said.
Miss Hall’s School charges fees from $6,800 per year to $43,800 per day student, while the international boarding school costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior was supposedly an open secret.
“The school has had my name as a victim for 20 years,” Simon told the Globe. “And they never reached out or started an investigation until they were forced to.”
State Senator Joan Lovely has attempted to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 when the predator is a person in a position of power or authority.
He said the case of Miss Hall’s school provides an “excellent example” of why the legislation is urgently needed.
“The defendants could not use the age of consent as a defense,” he told the Globe in a statement.
‘We need to protect young people from sexual abuse and assault, and this bill will curb this behaviour. “Hopefully people will think twice before being prosecuted.”
However, the law has not been approved.
Julia Heaton, current principal at Miss Hall’s school, placed Rutledge on administrative leave after Fares’ attorney sent a letter to the school in March about the allegations.
He resigned two days later while the school commissioned an independent investigation, which is ongoing.
“We took immediate action to protect the safety of our students, which is our most important responsibility,” Miss Hall said in a statement.
‘Mister. Rutledge was banned from campus and will not return.