A judge in Berkshire Superior Court heard arguments Thursday over a move to dismiss rape charges against a former Pittsfield, Massachusetts, private school teacher.
Ryan Schiff, the attorney for former teacher Matthew Rutledge, told Judge Michael Callan that the 15 year statute of limitation for two of the three counts of rape his client is accused of expired before he was charged by the Berkshire district attorney's office in March. The argument rebuts the prosecution's position that time Rutledge spent at his house in Canada paused the clock on when he could face charges for the alleged rapes. The effort to dismiss the third rape charge hinges on the claim that Melissa Fares, one of the two women who has publicly accused Rutledge of grooming and assaulting her while she was a student in his care at Miss Hall's School, did not immediately describe their interaction as rape during a police interview, and that she had “motivation to fabricate” the claim when the DA's office initially said it would not file charges against Rutledge. Prosecutors described Schiff's argument as a baseless misinterpretation, and Fares says she has always characterized her interactions with Rutledge as rape. Callan will decide on the motion to dismiss on Jan. 4.
