A former teacher at a venerable Massachusetts boarding and day school for girls has been charged with three counts of rape, the Berkshire County District Attorney\u2019s Office announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matthew Rutledge, who had been accused of grooming students for sex during his 30-plus-year career at Miss Hall\u2019s School, was indicted by a grand jury on the strength of testimony from two former students named Hilary Simon and Melissa Fares, the prosecutors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rutledge, 67, was charged nearly two years after Simon and Fares came forward with sexual abuse allegations \u2014 and after the DA\u2019s office initially declined to charge the ex-teacher with a crime because the accusers were 16 at the time of the alleged incidents. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16 and state law does not criminalize sexual relations between teachers and students regardless of age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey have waited far too long for justice and, while I recognize our office took time to develop a path forward, I hope it is evident that I remained committed to holding the Defendant accountable for his crimes,\u201d Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s office said it is in the process of sending Rutledge a formal summons, after which he will be given an arraignment date by the Berkshire Superior Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe stand with the Survivors whose courage and determination played an indispensable role in this outcome, and we are grateful they will finally have the opportunity to seek justice in the criminal case against Matt Rutledge,\u201d Miss Hall\u2019s School said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rutledge, who records show lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, could not be reached for comment. He is charged with two counts of rape against Fares and one count of rape against Simon, according to the two women and Julia Sabourin, the chief operating officer at the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fares, now 33, was allegedly abused by Rutledge from 2007 to 2010 and Simon, now 37, was allegedly abused from 2001 to 2005. During and after they were both students at the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Fares and Simon testified before the grand jury on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fares said she was relieved, saying, \u201cThere were too many moments where it felt like it might not go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo I held onto hope, but also protected myself from expecting it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of what makes this moment feel so significant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simon said she too, at times, feared that Rutledge would never be held accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I do know is that Melissa and I were clear from Day 1 that there was never any consent,\u201d Simon said. \u201cWe never wavered on that. Not once. And I think that consistency, that refusal to let anyone reframe what happened to us, is part of what kept this case alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For decades, Rutledge had been a \u201clarger than life\u201d figure at the school who would bellow \u201cMake way for Mr. Wonderful\u201d as he walked down the hallways, according to a report prepared for Miss Hall\u2019s School after the allegations against the teacher first surfaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rutledge had, at various times, served as a history teacher, coach, resident, adviser and department chair, the report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in April 2024, Rutledge resigned after Fares reported him to the school administration for allegedly sexually abusing and exploiting her when she was a student and after she graduated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly afterward, Simon came forward with her accusations against Rutledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That same month, the local DA, the Pittsfield Police Department, and the state Department of Children and Families all launched investigations into the Rutledge allegations. In Massachusetts, there is no statute of limitations for reporting rape allegations for victims 16 and younger; for anyone 17 and older, the statute of limitations is 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, word of the alleged abuse by Rutledge began spreading on social media among the angry alumnae of Miss Hall\u2019s School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faced with an uproar, Miss Hall\u2019s School hired a law firm to investigate the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report, released in August, found that Rutledge had been reported for inappropriate behavior to school leadership multiple times and that the school failed to act. It found that Rutledge had abused five girls over a 20-year span.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also detailed other cases of sexual misconduct going back to the 1940s against students by other former staffers at Miss Hall\u2019s School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Head of School Julia Heaton issued an apology on behalf of the school and herself after the report was released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October 2024, the hopes of Fares and Simon that Rutledge would soon be prosecuted were temporarily dashed when Shugrue announced his office could not press charges against the teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMassachusetts law defines the age of consent as 16,\u201d Shugrue said in a statement at the time. \u201cWhile the alleged behavior is profoundly troubling, it is not illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disappointed but not dissuaded, Fares and Simon worked with state lawmakers to help get support for a bill that was introduced that would allow for people in positions of power, like teachers, to be held criminally responsible, even if the student has reached the age of consent. That bill is still in process with the state legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They filed separate lawsuits against the school, Fares in 2024 and Simon in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the meantime, the DA\u2019s office assigned a team of special prosecutors and state police detectives to revisit the evidence collected by the Pittsfield police and by the school\u2019s law firm and concluded that Rutledge had \u201cviolated Massachusetts General Law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DA\u2019s office did not provide any further details about the evidence but stressed its investigation into Rutledge \u201cas well as any suspected criminal conduct of other staff members at Miss Hall\u2019s School\u201d is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n