Outrage as teacher at $76,000 Massachusetts boarding school won’t be prosecuted for ‘grooming and abusing multiple young girls’

A teacher at a prestigious private school in Massachusetts will not face charges for allegedly grooming and abusing multiple young girls due to the state’s minimum age laws.

Matthew S. Rutledge, a longtime history teacher, was accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom have identified themselves.

The close-knit school charges tuition from $6,800 per year to $43,800 for a day student, while international boarding costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior would be an open secret.

The Berkshire District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute Rutledge because the age of consent in Massachusetts is 16 and the alleged victims were all 16 years old at the time, according to the Boston Globe.

However, he is said to have groomed two of the women when they were aged 14 and 15, before sexual relations began when they were 16.

A teacher at a prestigious private school in Massachusetts will not face charges for allegedly grooming and abusing multiple young girls due to the state’s minimum age laws. (Photo: Teacher Matthew Rutledge with one of the plaintiffs, 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 have identified themselves. (Photo: Rutledge with prosecutor Hilary F. Simon)

The lawyer representing the women, Eric MacLeish, branded the age of consent legislation a “terrible law” that is at odds with what is happening nationally.

“How can anyone say that there can be consent with a teacher who is thirty years older than a student?” MacLeish said.

MacLeish added that one of his clients, former student Melissa Fares, was not made aware of Rutledge’s failure to face charges until it was published in the media.

He also rejected the smear that his clients consented to sex with Rutledge regardless of 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 released a statement explaining the decision.

“Massachusetts law defines the age of consent as 16 years of age. “While the alleged behavior is deeply disturbing, it is not illegal,” he said.

“Investigations into allegations of child abuse are inherently complex and require careful investigation.

“Our office, as well as our partner law enforcement agencies, will not rush the investigation to reach a quick conclusion.”

Rutledge resigned in March this year after the allegations became public.

The allegations first aired when Fares posted on an alumni Facebook page saying Rutledge sexually assaulted her between 2007 and 2010 while she was a student.

Matthew S. Rutledge, a former history teacher, was accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom have identified themselves

The close-knit school charges tuition from $6,800 per year to $43,800 for a day student, while international boarding costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior would be an open secret

Fares’ message had a domino effect.

It prompted another former student, Hilary Simon, to write in the same private group about her alleged grooming and abuse 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 party in 2005.

She said she told an official at the school about his behavior, but no one ever brought it up.

“The school was very aware of what he was doing,” she said in an interview in April 2024. “And they didn’t stop him.”

Fares filed a civil lawsuit against Rutledge, accusing him of assault. It also focuses on Miss Hall’s School’s claim of negligence.

She described Rutledge as a popular and charismatic teacher who began making advances when she was just 15.

The flirting escalated to groping and explicit comments, and after she turned 17, he had sex with her in his class, according to the former student. She said she did not consent to the first sexual encounters.

Meanwhile, Simon said Rutledge groped her in a van in front of several other students. One student reported the incident to school officials, but Simon said they did not investigate it.

The school even held a meeting to warn students against spreading “rumors,” she said.

Miss Hall’s School charges from $6,800 per year to $43,800 for a day student, while international boarding costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior would be an open secret

“The school has victimized my name for 20 years,” Simon told the Globe. “And they never reached out or investigated until they were forced to.”

State Senator Joan Lovely has sought to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18 when the predator is a person in a position of power or authority.

She said the Miss Hall’s School case is a “primitive example” of why the legislation is urgently needed.

“Defendants could not use age of consent as a defense,” she told the Globe in a statement.

“We must protect young people from sexual abuse and assault, and this bill will chill this behavior. Hopefully people will think twice if they are prosecuted.’

However, the law has not yet been passed.

Julia Heaton, Ms. Hall’s current principal, placed Rutledge on administrative leave after Fares’ attorney sent a letter to the school about the allegations in March.

He resigned two days later, while the school ordered an independent investigation, which is still ongoing.

“We took immediate action to protect the safety of our students, which is our most important responsibility,” Ms. Hall said in a statement.

‘Sir. Rutledge was banned from campus and will not return.”