When former students of Miss Hall’s School came forward in the spring of 2024 with allegations that then-teacher Matthew Rutledge had sexually assaulted them, they were shocked by the reaction of local law enforcement. Survivor Melissa Fares, the first graduate of the elite all-girls school to speak out, told legislators how it felt during a State House hearing in June 2025.
“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," she said. "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.”
Due to Fares being over 16 years old — the state’s age of consent — at the time of the alleged assault, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue claimed his hands were tied in regards to prosecuting Rutledge.
Speaking with WAMC in April, Fares said that galvanized her and fellow survivor Hilary Simon into action by backing legislation they say ensures no adult in a position of power can have sex with children in their care.
“The law needs to catch up," she said. "It's pathetic and just completely a disgrace for Massachusetts. But I want to be optimistic, and I really do think that there is hope, and that this bill will pass. But we never should have had to fight this hard. This loophole needs to die.”
In the years since Fares and Simon went public, much has changed. Rutledge – who left Miss Hall’s not long after the allegations surfaced in early 2024 – was charged with three counts of rape this spring, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
On the legislative front, the loophole is on the verge of finally being closed.
“Today's budget vote is significant because it moves forward one of the key criminal justice provisions from legislation I filed last January, in January of 2025," State Representative Leigh Davis told WAMC. "It moves it one step closer to becoming law, and what it says is that the House and the Senate have both agreed that the state needs stronger protections for students from adults who have used positions of authority, and it's an important milestone.”
Davis has served the Southern Berkshires on Beacon Hill since 2025. She joined fellow lawmakers working to close the loophole like fellow Democrat Joan Lovely – state senator of the 2nd Essex district – early into her first term. It was in no small part due to the Miss Hall’s scandal, which ultimately extended beyond Rutledge into a confrontation with decades of misconduct by staffers against girls at the school.
“It represents teamwork, it represents listening to the voices of survivors and families, and all those that have advocated, said Davis. "Obviously in the Berkshires with Miss Hall's School, but throughout the commonwealth, because this isn't something that's just happening in one town. This is happening all over the state, all over the country, and it's saying that the legislature is finally listening.”
Davis says, with the legislature poised to approve the loophole closure in the budget vote, final approval of the new law will be the responsibility of Democratic Governor Maura Healey.
“Providing that both the House and the Senate have a favorable vote today, and then it is enacted, the governor will have 10 days to review the budget," the state rep told WAMC. "So, she could sign it, she could veto it, or she could return parts with recommended amendments. So, really, today the clock will be ticking, and we should know something within the next two weeks.”
