Overview
- Rutledge, who appeared Wednesday in Berkshire Superior Court, pleaded not guilty, was released on personal recognizance, and must avoid the two accusers, with a pretrial hearing set for June 18.
- A Berkshire County grand jury indicted him in March 2026 on three felony counts after testimony from former students Hilary Simon and Melissa Fares.
- After the DA declined charges in October 2024 because the state’s consent age is 16, special prosecutors and the Berkshire State Police reexamined the case using the Aleta Law report and said he had violated Massachusetts law.
- The 2025 Aleta Law report, based on school records and about 158 interviews, found school leaders let Rutledge abuse at least five students over roughly 20 years and detailed other staff misconduct reaching back to the 1940s.
- Simon and Fares have filed separate civil suits and are urging passage of bill H.4538 to outlaw sexual contact by educators with students 16 or 17 in Massachusetts.