Disturbing new evidence is being reviewed by prosecutors in Massachusetts after a report revealed decades of sexual abuse at an elite boarding school, including allegations against a teacher shielded by the state’s age of consent law.
Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, which charges up to $75,600 a year for international boarders, hired a law firm last year to investigate misconduct claims.
A 60-page report released in August concluded that history teacher Matthew Rutledge abused at least five students over two decades and that administrators repeatedly failed to act on warnings, reported Boston.com.
Investigators also substantiated allegations against seven other former employees, exposing a pattern of misconduct spanning decades.
The report described Rutledge as a ‘polarizing’ figure, with some saying ‘you either loved him or you hated him.’
It found he engaged in ‘grooming behavior, sexual advances, sexual touching, and forcible oral and vaginal intercourse,’ amounting to ‘egregious patterns of grooming and sexual misconduct.’
One student said Rutledge had sexual contact and intercourse with her multiple times during her junior and senior years, including ‘at his house when she was babysitting his children, in his classroom, and in other rooms/locations on campus.’
Another student said that on graduation day, Rutledge ‘pulled’ her into his classroom, gave her a letter and gift, hugged her for a long time, kissed her goodbye, and told her he ‘loved’ her. The same student said he later engaged in ‘forceful’ and ‘animalistic’ vaginal and oral intercourse with her.
The close-knit school charges fees starting at $6,800 per year up to $43,800 for a day student, while international boarding costs up to $75,600. With fewer than 200 students at the institution, Rutledge’s behavior was allegedly an open secret
Longtime history teacher Matthew S. Rutledge has been accused of sexual abuse at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom have identified themselves
Other accounts described threats and coercion: one student said Rutledge ‘threatened [her] often that he would kill himself’ if she reported him, while another said he made her believe she would ‘not get into college’ if she spoke up.
The report found that in the 1990s, a senior student was punished for saying Rutledge was ‘having sex’ with international students and was forced to write an ‘apology’ letter.
At an all-school meeting, students were warned ‘not to gossip’ or face ‘disciplinary action.’
Parents later reported ‘unmistakably inappropriate’ behavior, including Rutledge attempting to kiss and professing his love for a recent graduate.
The Board summary said former leaders Norris and Chandler ‘failed to adequately respond and properly investigate after seeking advice from the School’s former legal counsel.’
Concerns raised to Board President Nancy Ault were also not properly investigated.
Other Misconduct Investigators substantiated claims against seven other former employees, including a teacher in the 2000s who showed ‘grooming behavior’ and ‘inappropriate physical contact,’ such as rubbing a student’s shoulders and touching another’s upper leg.
One alumna reported waking up ‘naked and alone’ in a past employee’s bed.
He was accused by five women between 1992 and 2010, two of whom have identified themselves (Pictured: Rutledge with accuser Hilary F. Simon)
Ruttledge will not be prosecuted for allegedly grooming and abusing multiple young girls because of the state’s age of consent laws (Pictured: Teacher Matthew Rutledge with one of the accusers, Melissa Fares)
Miss Hall’s apologized and settled some legal claims. The school has since implemented new staff training and set guidelines for where students and teachers can meet.
‘We would not know the full extent of this harm if it weren’t for the courageous Survivors who came forward,’ trustees wrote in a letter to the community. ‘We are profoundly grateful to these individuals, and we are simultaneously deeply sorry for all they endured.’
Rutledge resigned in March 2024 after allegations became public.
The claims first surfaced that month when former student Melissa Fares posted on Facebook that Rutledge had sexually assaulted her between 2007 and 2010.
Hilary Simon later came forward, saying Rutledge kissed her and told her he loved her at her graduation in 2005.
Both women described grooming that began when they were 14 or 15, escalating to sexual contact after they turned 16 – the legal age of consent in Massachusetts. That law shielded Rutledge from criminal charges.
‘Massachusetts law defines the age of consent as 16,’ Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said last year. ‘While the alleged behavior is profoundly troubling, it is not illegal.’
The district attorney’s office says the case remains open and is reviewing new evidence from the report, which was based on 146 interviews.
‘Our office has assigned a team to review the findings,’ spokeswoman Julia Sabourin said.
The school has since implemented new staff training and set guidelines for where students and teachers can meet
Fares and Simon have testified before lawmakers, urging passage of a bill that would bar teachers and other authority figures from claiming consent in sexual relationships with minors.
‘For more than 30 years, this man preyed on students – why? Because he knew he could,’ Simon told legislators in June. ‘He knew that the law offered cover.’
Fares added: ‘Massachusetts expects a 16-year-old to say ‘no’ to someone who is like a parent, who holds power over their grades, their college recommendations and their social freedom. The next generation needs the protection we never got.’
Massachusetts is one of 11 states where consent laws allow teachers to claim sexual relationships with students as legal once the student turns 16. ‘The school was very, very well aware of what he was doing,’ Simon said. ‘And they didn’t stop him.’
