{"id":4096,"date":"2026-07-02T14:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4096"},"modified":"2026-07-02T14:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:04:52","slug":"finally-mass-legislators-close-the-loophole-that-gave-cover-to-sexual-predators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4096","title":{"rendered":"Finally, Mass. legislators close the loophole that gave cover to sexual predators"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Wednesday afternoon, at last, legislators passeda law that will give teenagers the long-overdue protection they deserve from authority figures who would abuse them.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Until now, some predators in this state have been able to hide behind our age of consent law, which states that a person over 16 can fully consent to sex. Unlike in many other states, that law contained no exception for when those in positions of trust \u2014 teachers, coaches, police officers, and others \u2014 sexually exploit 16- and 17-year-olds in their care. The law failed to take account of the immense power imbalance in those relationships. A 47-year-old teacher, for instance, could argue that, under state law, a 17-year-old entered willingly into a sexual relationship with him. Not anymore.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking about everything it took to get here, and how hard survivors have to fight for what should so often be obvious,\u201d Melissa Fares said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Fares was a sophomore at Miss Hall\u2019s, a private girls\u2019 school in Pittsfield, her history teacher Matthew Rutledge allegedly began grooming her. Just after she turned 17, he began having sex with her. As a teenager, she did not see what was happening to her. As an adult, she came to understand that her high school self could not, and did not, choose to have sex with her teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the new law, it will be a crime for an adult to have sex with a 16- or 17-year-old who is, or has previously been, under their authority \u2014 punishable by up to 20 years in prison. It draws a clear line. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA child cannot consent to the adult who controls her grades, her college recommendations, her whole world,\u201d said Hilary Simon, who graduated from Miss Hall\u2019s in 2005 and was also allegedly sexually exploited by Rutledge during and after high school. <\/span><\/p>\n

The law is finally changing in large part due to the courage of Simon and Fares. Fares, who graduated from Miss Hall\u2019s in 2010, made the first public allegations of abuse against Rutledge in 2024. The women both alleged that Rutledge began grooming them as sophomores, offering flattering attention that grew increasingly physical, then began having sex with each of them after they turned 16. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was never consent,\u201d Simon said. \u201cIt was exploitation. And now the law says so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Initially, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue declined to bring charges against Rutledge, citing the fact that Fares and Simon were each over 16 when he started having sex with them. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Gutted, the women devoted themselves to convincing this state to do what 39 others already have: Close the loophole in the age of consent law. Shugrue eventually did charge Rutledge with three counts of rape, after an independent report established a pattern of exploitation by the teacher, strengthening the case against him. (He has denied wrongdoing.)<\/span><\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t have been that hard. Though they both live out of state, Fares and Simon went to Beacon Hill to give testimony and lobby legislators in the hopes of showing them what was at stake. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdvocacy has been healing, but it\u2019s also meant revisiting hell over and over again,\u201d Fares said. <\/span><\/p>\n

For Simon, the battle meant \u201creliving the worst thing that ever happened to me, over and over, in public, on a schedule set by legislative calendars,\u201d she said. \u201cI sat in rooms and made the case for why what happened to me should be a crime, which is a strange and lonely thing to have to argue. There were stretches where it took everything I had.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Senator Joan Lovely has been pushing to change this law for years and knows all too well what it takes for survivors to fight publicly for better protections. The Salem Democrat, 67, says she was sexually abused by an uncle when she was 6 years old. He was never charged. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents were told I\u2019d forget, but that doesn\u2019t happen for victims,\u201d Lovely said. \u201cNow I have this opportunity to turn that terrible experience into policy and protect other kids.\u201d The senator called this one of the most important fights of her career. \u201cWe have finally been able to meet the moment,\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, attorney Kristin Knuuttila, who represents Rutledge\u2019s alleged victims and many others, said she was already hearing from many of her clients. The law was finally recognizing what they\u2019d gone through as teens.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled for all of my clients who fought for this bill,\u201d she said. \u201cI am also relieved for Massachusetts students that the onus is no longer on them to fend off predators.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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If only this victory hadn\u2019t cost survivors like Fares and Simon so much.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we\u2019ve made it easier for the next person,\u201d Fares said. \u201cI really do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can a 17-year-old consent to sex with her 47-year-old teacher? At long last, this state will say no. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFinally, Mass. legislators close the loophole that gave cover to sexual predators - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4096\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finally, Mass. legislators close the loophole that gave cover to sexual predators - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can a 17-year-old consent to sex with her 47-year-old teacher? 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