10 hours ago
Mass. bills could protect older teens from sexual assault
The teacher,
Rutledge was never charged with rape. Simon was 16 at the time and in Massachusetts, where the age of consent is 16, there's no law stating that a teenager over 16 can't consent to sexual intercourse.
That would change under a pair of bills sponsored by Representative Leigh Davis, a Democrat of Great Barrington, and state Senator Joan Lovely, a Salem Democrat.
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The bills
seek to close the loophole that allowed adults in positions of power to get away with sexually assaulting teenagers who were 16 and older. The bills do not change the age of consent in Massachusetts. But they
specify that when adults are in a position of power in relation to a minor, that student can't give consent. Adults in positions of power are defined broadly in the bills, to include anyone employed, or acting as a volunteer, in private or public schools as tutors, coaches or child-care providers.
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'Right now in Massachusetts, a teacher, a coach or a priest can legally have sex with a 16 or 17 year-old in their care and claim it was consensual,' Davis said during a hearing before the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Judiciary. 'That's not consent. It's exploitation.'
In situations where the adult is a coach who is 19, or somewhat close to the age of the minor, the student also would not be able to give consent as per the law, Lovely said.
No matter the age gap, the coach is still in a position of power relative to the student, said Lovely, who has filed bills to close the loophole at least since 2021.
'The legislation ensures that adults cannot use their position of authority or trust to take advantage of students,' Lovely said.
Davis, who was elected to office last year, said she filed her bill after a conversation with Timothy Shugrue, the Berkshire district attorney.
Under the current law, Shugrue's office could not charge Rutledge, despite finding the teacher's actions troubling, he said.
At the hearing, Shugrue said over 39 states have enacted strong legal protections for minors experiencing sexual assault.
'This came out of a local case, but it has widespread impacts,' Davis said, 'Massachusetts is behind in this regard compared to a lot of other states.'
Citizens and legislators gave emotional testimony in support of the bills during the four-hour hearing.
Citizens spoke about a host of other bills dealing with sexual assault victims and human trafficking at Tuesday's meeting as well. To get passed into law, the bills have 60 days from the day they were heard in committee to be reported out, officials said.
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Melissa Fares, who graduated from Miss Hall's School in 2010, five years after Simon, said she was also was abused by Rutledge. Fares testified that rape doesn't always involve a violent attack by a stranger in a dark alley. It can also take the form of a trusted authority figure, like a teacher coercing a student behind closed doors in a classroom closet.
'He never asked me if he could kiss me, grope me or penetrate me, 'Fares said. 'He just did it, and nothing in the law stops him from walking into another school and doing it all over again.'
Now 33, Fares said she still has panic attacks, night terrors, waves of depression, and ongoing difficulties with intimacy.
Fares urged the committee to take action on the bills.
'For the . . . survivors silenced by imbalance, confusion and fear, who were robbed of the hope, healing and justice they deserve, the next generation needs the protection we never got,' she said. 'Massachusetts must do better."
Angela Mathew can be reached at
