After news broke of sexual predation against students at the private Pittsfield all-girls boarding school Miss Hall’s last year, survivors were shocked when Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said he could not press charges against the accused perpetrator due to a gap in state law concerning the age of consent. Former Miss Hall’s student Melissa Fares spoke at a Beacon Hill hearing in June to support a legislative effort aimed at making it illegal for adults in positions of power to have sexual relationships with young people in their care.
“Last October, I received a message from a reporter telling me that the man who had groomed and sexually abused me as a teenager would not face criminal charges. According to a press release from the DA’s office, while the behavior was troubling, it was not illegal," said Fares. "I had reported rape. I had told my story to law enforcement in Massachusetts twice, but they maintained they were constrained from pursuing criminal charges. Rape doesn't always involve a violent attack by a stranger in a dark alley. It can also take the form of a trusted authority figure, like a teacher coercing a student behind closed doors in a classroom closet.”
The DA’s explanation was that as a result of the commonwealth’s designation of 16 as the age of consent, he could not pursue legal action against former Miss Hall’s teacher Matthew Rutledge, despite multiple allegations of sexual assault directed at him by former students.
In the wake of the scandal and Shugrue’s inaction, Democratic State Representative Leigh Davis of the 3rd Berkshire District filed a bill in the Massachusetts House.
“It's about protecting our youth from adults in positions of authority and trust," she told WAMC. "And what this does is, it's a momentous and important step in closing loopholes in Massachusetts. We’re strengthening the law and strengthening protections for our youth.”
Recently, it took a step forward through the labyrinth of the commonwealth’s legislative process.
“This bill was advanced forward, and it's now part of a redrafted bill, which is H.4538, and the title is ‘An act relative to preventing educator sexual misconduct and abuse of children and youth,’" explained Davis. "So essentially, this is a new draft of H.1634, my bill, with additions of from a series of other bills. What this does, it has a couple key provisions, but notably, it creates a new criminal offense for adults in positions of authority or trust at schools, and these are adults who entice students into sexual activity. And what is important to note here is that what it's saying is that no longer can adults use the age of consent as a defense.”
Davis says the new form of the legislation comes with other mechanisms to protect students and punish adults who prey on them.
“It also basically allows for flexibility in sentencing, it triggers automatic license suspension if convicted, it strengthens pre-employment disclosure and reference checks for applicants when they're coming into direct, unmonitored contact with students," she told WAMC. "And essentially, it's really taking this as almost an omnibus, a youth protection omnibus, and it's really saying that we need to have stronger protections for youth, especially in schools and institutions.”
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill have now been referred to the chambers’ respective Ways and Means Committees for further consideration.
“There's going to be a little bit of reconciling between the two bills, and we're going to have to wait and see," said Davis. "So, I already am going to be speaking with members of the both the Senate and the House to see if there's anything I can do just further advance this and advocate. But I think what people should know is that there's real momentum, and it's taken so many folks, their leadership, and their collaboration in advancing this bill.”
