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Former Miss Hall’s School teacher at center of grooming allegations is charged with rape
Several former students say Matthew Rutledge groomed and sexually abused them while serving as their teacher at the Western Massachusetts prep school.
A former teacher at Miss Hall’s School in Western Massachusetts was indicted on three counts of rape Tuesday, nearly two years after past students came forward with allegations of grooming and sexual abuse.
Matthew Rutledge is accused of sexually assaulting teenage pupils while serving as a teacher at the all-girls school in Pittsfield, according to the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. He is scheduled for arraignment April 22.
The indictment came after two of Rutledge’s former students, Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon, testified before a grand jury. Both women have allowed prosecutors to name them publicly.
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“It hasn’t quite sunk in, but I am extremely proud,” Fares told The Boston Globe Tuesday. “This is a huge testament to us not backing down, and continuing to fight for what is right. … I feel proud of myself and of Hilary and of the other survivors of Matt.”
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It was not immediately clear whether Rutledge had a criminal defense attorney to speak on his behalf; lawyers representing him in a separate civil lawsuit Fares filed against him and Miss Hall’s declined to comment.
Tuesday’s charges mark an about-face for the DA’s office, which previously said it could not prosecute Rutledge given the age of his accusers during the alleged abuse.
“Massachusetts law defines the age of consent as 16,” District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said in 2024. “While the alleged behavior is profoundly troubling, it is not illegal.”
But the investigation remained open, Shugrue said Tuesday. As a team of special prosecutors and Massachusetts State Police troopers continued digging into the allegations against Rutledge, the Miss Hall’s board tapped Aleta Law to conduct an independent investigation into reports of sexual misconduct aimed at students.
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The findings were alarming: The 2025 report linked Rutledge to five firsthand accounts of sexual misconduct involving students or recent graduates between the 1990s and 2010, with allegations of grooming, sexual advances, and “forcible oral and vaginal intercourse,” Aleta Law found. According to the report, “numerous” alumnae also shared their accounts of Rutledge’s purported favoritism and boundary crossing.
Boston.com has reached out to Miss Hall’s for comment on the indictment.
Rutledge taught at the prep school from 1991 until his resignation in 2024, and the report states that current and former students and staff described him as a “god” or “king” on campus, with a “larger than life” personality.
‘They have waited far too long for justice’
Between its own investigation and the Aleta Law report, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office said it ultimately determined Rutledge had broken state law. The exact allegations that led to his rape charges remain unclear.
“It took a long time to get to Tuesday’s indictment,” Shugrue acknowledged, praising prosecutors and investigators who worked to bring charges.
“Most of all, I would like to recognize and commend Melissa Fares and Hilary Simon for their bravery and continued cooperation throughout this long, arduous process,” he continued. “They have waited far too long for justice and, while I recognize our office took time to develop a path forward, I hope it is evident that I remained committed to holding the Defendant accountable for his crimes.”
Kristin Knuuttila, an attorney representing the two women, told Boston.com they are “obviously thrilled” the DA’s office decided to charge Rutledge, a man she said took advantage of not only the age gap between himself and his students, but the power differential. A pending bill on Beacon Hill would make it illegal for educators to pressure students into sexual activity through abuse or misconduct, closing a purported loophole in the state’s age-of-consent law.
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Speaking to the Globe, Simon said justice for the survivors of Rutledge’s alleged abuse is decades in the making.
“This is someone who groomed me to believe he loved me,” she pointed out. “This isn’t a stranger in an alleyway raping us, it is a teacher who spent a lot of time trying to cultivate a relationship, while also breaking down our boundaries, and ultimately raping us.”
The Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office said its investigation into Rutledge remains active, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact detectives at 413-449-5055 or [email protected].
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