Matthew Rutledge will be arraigned at Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield on three counts of rape on April 22 at 2 p.m. Two of his former students, Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon, brought forward allegations in March 2024 that he groomed and raped them while they were students at Miss Hall’s School. Investigations into the school’s culture by both WAMC and an independent law firm found many other cases of sexual misconduct between school employees and students in their care. Fares told WAMC, while Rutledge’s indictment on rape charges is a step in the right direction, the situation remains unresolved.
“It's important to remember that this wasn't just one person, that there were clear, repeated institutional failures at multiple levels by people in systems that were supposed to protect us," she said. "What happened here didn't happen in a vacuum, and there were tons of warning signs and reports, and Miss Hall’s failed to act in the way it should have.”
Fares and Simon have backed legislative efforts to close age-of-consent loopholes in Massachusetts that currently do not prohibit teachers to have sexual relationships with students aged 16 and older.
