Western Mass residents call on Legislature to protect kids with slew of abuse prevention bills

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

Staff Writer

Published: 06-18-2025 5:37 PM

Modified: 06-18-2025 5:58 PM


BOSTON — Western Massachusetts residents called for legislative reform this week to prevent child sexual abuse.

The Joint Committee on Judiciary and Joint Committee on Education held simultaneous public hearings Tuesday afternoon, welcoming citizens and experts from across the state to share their thoughts on numerous bills that were filed in the Legislature. Among the testimonies heard were stories from western Massachusetts residents, including survivors of abuse that is alleged to have occurred at Miss Hall’s School, a private high school for girls located in Pittsfield.

They shared stories of their own abuse and abuse experienced by loved ones, urging the committees to report favorably on the package of legislation, which includes 20 bills addressing gaps in age-of-consent laws, requiring stricter screening protocols for school hires, and eliminating statutes of limitations and caps on damages for civil lawsuits.

“Please pass these bills. They will protect students, empower students and show that Massachusetts stands on the side of safety,” said Hilary Simon, a 2005 graduate of Miss Hall’s School who detailed alleged abuse she suffered from teacher Matthew Rutledge. Rutledge has been accused of using his position as a history teacher at the school to groom and abuse multiple students.

“The power balance was deliberate and he took full advantage of it,” Simon said. “Massachusetts must continue to evolve its laws to protect its children.”

The bills being considered by the committees, also known as the “Prevention Package,” would require schools to disclose any sexual abuse investigations and findings to other districts that are considering hiring a former employee; update the state’s child pornography laws to reflect modern technology and ban computer-generated child sexual abuse material; and criminalize sexual relations between adults in positions of trust with students at schools and youth-serving organizations, even those over the age of consent, which is 16 in Massachusetts. The legislation would also require training and education for students, teachers and school staff, and for districts to adopt codes of conduct outlining prohibited boundary-crossing behaviors.

Tuesday’s hearing comes just a few months after a civil complaint was filed against former Mohawk Trail Regional School ski coach Sean Loomis for allegedly sexually assaulting a student from 2016 to 2019, and the Berkshire County district attorney’s office investigated a relationship between former Mohawk Trail School Resource Officer Tucker Jenkins and an 18-year-old student that determined they “were involved in a relationship beyond that of a teacher/student.”

“We call on our Massachusetts legislators to fulfill their obligation to protect our children and safeguard our communities,” Rowe resident Michael Laffond told the committees. “No family should endure this pain. No child should suffer in silence.”

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Jetta Bernier, executive director of Enough Abuse, a nonprofit dedicated to ending child sexual abuse, said that similar prevention bills have been passed in states across the country, and Massachusetts is “the only New England state that has not passed these bills.”

Bernier mentioned at least five accusations that have been filed against teachers, coaches and staff members so far in 2025 for allegedly sexually abusing students, including at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School in South Hadley, STEM Middle Academy in Springfield and Mohawk Trail Regional School.

“These local cases have exposed gaps that have failed victims across the commonwealth. … At their core, both of my bills strengthen and update protections for people vulnerable to exploitation,” said state Rep. Leigh Davis, who represents the 3rd Berkshire District. “Right now, a teacher, a coach or a priest can have sex with a 16- or 17-year-old and can claim it’s consensual. That’s not consent, that’s exploitation.”

Committee members thanked attendees for their testimony and asked questions about the wording and specific impacts of the bills. Regarding “An act relative to sexual assaults by adults in positions of authority or trust,” Lydia Edwards, who serves as Senate chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, asked whether there would be any exceptions for young adults who graduate and return to their alma maters to coach or work with their former peers.

Sponsor Sen. Joan Lovely said that under her proposed legislation, students would not be allowed to give consent to adults in positions of power, regardless of the age of the teacher or coach. Current law includes a loophole, allowing adults in positions of authority and trust to have sexual relations with students who are over the age of 16 and claim it was consensual.

“Even if a coach is two years older, he’s still in a position of power,” commented Rowe resident Lori Ledger.

Ledger said the testimonies given to the committee were the “same story” over and over again, and those stories should not have happened in the first place.

“We shouldn’t be here today,” Ledger said. “We hope something changes in western Mass, because it’s pretty bad.”

State Rep. Kenneth Gordon, House chair of the Joint Committee on Education, said that, given the overlapping topics of the bills presented to the two committees, they will work together to review the proposed legislation.

For a complete list of bills included in the Prevention Package, visit enoughabuse.org. To read each bill in its entirety and see its status in the legislative process, visit malegislature.gov.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.