When Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon walked out of Berkshire Superior Court, they were enveloped by a crowd of supporters with orange hearts affixed to their chests. It was Simon’s idea.
“So, Melissa's favorite color is orange, and Melissa Fares started this movement," she told WAMC. "And hearts are generally used for survivors. There's also butterflies, but Melissa likes hearts, so we went with the orange heart as a symbol of our movement.”
One of the people wearing an orange heart was Bethany Whitney, a Miss Hall’s graduate who in 2024 helped WAMC break open the culture of silence around sexual misconduct at the school. She testified to just how pervasive and unchecked the situation was.
“Matt Rutledge made us watch him have relationships with students, with our peers when we were younger, and we didn't have a voice to speak up about it, and so it's really nice to be here today and watch him face consequences that are long overdue," she said. "I hope that there's justice with him. I hope there's justice with everybody else who is involved in allowing this to continue.”
Fares was the first former Miss Hall’s School student to bring rape allegations against longtime teacher Matthew Rutledge in early 2024. Not long after, Simon joined her in putting names to years of rumors about Rutledge on the secluded campus just off Holmes Road. During her remarks at a press conference following the arraignment, the raw emotions that surfaced made the true weight of the moment clear. Fares reflected on a surreal day to WAMC afterwards.
“God, where am I right now?" she pondered. "Here, which is a miracle. I do feel present in this moment, which I can't always say about myself. I've talked a lot about this trauma, having to leave my body and dissociate, but when I was giving my speech, I did feel here, and I'm truly blown away by how many people came and how much love I have received since the day I came forward.”
Inside the packed courtroom, Rutledge pleaded not guilty. It was the first time either Fares or Simon had been in the same room as their former teacher and alleged rapist for years. As Fares noted, this time, things were different.
“To be in the same room as him, and for the first time, hold the power- It's just, I mean, God, it feels good. I don't know. It's great!" she said. "It took a lot of hard work too. So, while it's a celebration for me, it's nuanced. And obviously there's a lot more work to do, but I feel proud of myself, I feel proud of Hilary, I feel proud of all of the advocacy work that we're doing, and think we're on, really on the right path.”
Both Fares and Simon stress that while Rutledge being charged is a victory in and of itself, full accountability at Miss Hall’s School remains unresolved. Fares says the school’s current and past leadership have more to answer for.
“Many people would appreciate if [head of school] Julia Heaton and [board of trustees chair] Nancy Ault would be more communicative with the public and have more of a presence and explain themselves," she said. "But I think a lot of people don't even want to hear their explanation and want them gone. And I can certainly understand why. Part of me can, for sure. [Former head of school from 1996 to 2012] Jeannie Norris and [former administrator] Jenny Chandler also must be held accountable- And criminally, too.”
Fares has an active civil case against Miss Hall’s that remains in litigation.
In a statement, Miss Hall’s told WAMC that it will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement while focusing on student safety and wellbeing. It went on to describe the rape allegations as “a painful part of our school’s history,” and apologized for “the harm that survivors have experienced.”
Various independent investigations into Miss Hall’s found Rutledge was far from the only teacher to have engaged in sex with students, and that it was allegedly an open secret on campus that such relationships existed and were not to be publicly acknowledged under threat of reprisal.
Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue initially did not press criminal charges against Rutledge, citing a loophole in state law that doesn’t outright prohibit teachers from sleeping with students over the age of 16. The decision to prosecute two years later shocked the Berkshire community when the indictment was made public in March. While Fares and Simon maintain that their allegations were about rape from the get-go, they’ve used their platform to advocate for legislation that would protect future students from adults in positions of power. Fares said fully realizing just how young and vulnerable Miss Hall’s students were – coupled with Rutledge still teaching at the school – was a huge part of her breaking the silence two years ago.
“I was talking to a current senior, and I just, I have hope," she said. "I have hope that they are going to lead the way. Somehow, I feel like the current Miss Hall’s students are going to be the ones holding people accountable, these adults. This is a movement."
Simon said she wants other survivors to know that they are loved, safe, and not responsible for the pain that was caused to them.
“And I hope that they look to Melissa and I and realize that they don't have to do this the way that we did, but it wasn't their fault, and they should feel safe to come forward in whatever way makes sense to them," she told WAMC. "And I hope that survivors see Melissa and I coming forward and gain courage and hope from that and heal in their own ways, because that's really what it's been about for me, is healing internally.”
While Fares and Simon were being embraced by their community outside the courthouse, Rutledge and his attorney rushed out to a car in a swarm of reporters asking for comment.
Neither said a word.
