Miss Hall's School released a 60-page report detailing sexual misconduct by former employees from the 1940s through the 2010s after an independent law firm investigation. The investigation connected longtime teacher and coach Matthew Rutledge to five first-hand accounts from the 1990s to 2010 and to multiple third-party reports of grooming and boundary crossing. Head of School Julia Heaton said the investigation revealed horrible truths and prompted personal and institutional reckoning. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office will review the report; the DA previously declined prosecution in October 2024 because alleged victims were over Massachusetts's age of consent, 16. Multiple former students reported allegations in 2024, leading to Rutledge's administrative leave and resignation.
Miss Hall's School in Pittsfield released a 60-page report Tuesday detailing sexual misconduct against students by former employees from the 1940s through the 2010s, based on an independent investigation by a law firm. Matthew Rutledge, formerly a longtime teacher and coach at the small, all-girls high school, was connected to five first-hand accounts of sexual misconduct from the 1990s to 2010, and multiple third party reports of grooming and boundary crossing, according to Aleta Law's report.
"The investigation revealed horrible truths about a community we hold dear and has brought about personal and institutional reckoning," Head of School Julia Heaton wrote in a community letter Tuesday. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office announced in a press release Tuesday it will review the law firm's report. In October 2024, the DA's office said it would not prosecute Rutledge, as the alleged victims were over the age of consent. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16.
An attorney representing a Miss Hall's alumna sent a letter to Heaton in March 2024, saying that Rutledge had inappropriate sexual contact with her while she was a student and after she graduated. Melissa Fares, who graduated from Miss Hall's in 2010, said in a post to the school's Facebook alumnae group that she had reported the allegations, The Berkshire Eagle reported. Heaton said she placed Rutledge, who was 62 at the time, on administrative leave; he resigned soon after.
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