Berkshire Officials Back Bills to Protect Minors From Sexual Abuse
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Local officials urge the passage of "long overdue" legislation to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults who are teachers, mentors, or other positions of trust.
"When I began my career as a prosecutor, I specialized in the prosecution of child sexual abuse cases. In the mid-1980s, this was a taboo topic. Something rarely discussed, much less prosecuted. During those early years, I worked to normalize the prosecution of child abuse cases and to protect our most vulnerable population, our children," District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said during a virtual press conference on Monday.
"In 1993, I founded the Berkshire County Children's Advocacy Center, now known as the Kids' Place, which appropriately supports children during such a traumatic life event. It's deeply troubling and frankly enraging that we find ourselves here today, still fighting to protect children from sexual abuse. How can it be that in a forward-thinking state like Massachusetts, we still lack laws that fully protect minors from sexual assault, particularly from adults in positions of trust and authority?"
Last year, Shugrue's office was unable to press charges against a former instructor at Miss Hall's School, Matthew Rutledge, for alleged sexual relations with students because they were of consenting age.
"In Massachusetts, the problem arises because once someone reaches the age of consent, they are legally considered capable of consenting to sexual activity with adults in positions of power in their lives. I argue that such so-called consent is not possible. Proving a lack of consent becomes nearly impossible," he said.
"Young adults are in the process of discovering who they are. It's natural for them to seek mentorship, guidance, and support from trusted adults. Unfortunately, a small but dangerous group of adults seek to exploit this vulnerability."
He said pedophiles are "particularly skilled" at grooming their victims and in Massachusetts, there are cases where predators groom minors before they turn 16 and upon their 16th birthday or shortly thereafter, manipulate the victims to enter into a sexual relationship.
"In what world can a 16-year-old truly consent to sex with a teacher, a coach, or any adult in a position of authority and trust? I believe that such consent does not exist," Shugrue said.
An Act Relative to Sexual Assaults by Adults in Positions of Authority or Trust aims to close a loophole in Massachusetts law by criminalizing sexual conduct between adults in positions of authority or trust in a public or private school setting and minors under their supervision. Under current law, adults in these roles cannot be prosecuted for this type of misconduct if the minor is 16 or older, the legal age of consent in Massachusetts.
It was presented by state Sen. Joan Lovely of the Second Essex District, who has worked with the nonprofit Enough Abuse on protective legislation for over a decade.
"We cannot allow another child to be harmed by sexual abuse," she said.
The bill states that a person under the age of 18 cannot be deemed able to consent to sexual activity with a mandated reporter or a person in a position of authority or trust.
"We're looking at the public and private school settings in particular but this really does transcend the harm of any child by an adult in a position of authority or trust. These people could be people that are working with our children in our schools, our sports teams, and beyond, and current law does not cover criminal sentencing for perpetrators of sexual abuse of a 14- to 18-year-old by an adult in a position of authority and a trust," Lovely said.
"The bill calls for perpetrators of assault and battery on a child who was 14 years old and is under 18 to be punished by imprisonment in the state prison system. It would also carry a minimum of 10 years in state prison. In addition, mandated reporters or adults in positions of authority trust who unlawfully have sexual intercourse with and abuse a child under the age of 16 shall also be sentenced in our system."
She said that for far too long, the gap in state law has allowed perpetrators to exploit children they are entrusted with caring for.
"I've been fighting for this legislation for years because protecting children is not just a policy priority. It's our obligation. It's our responsibility," Lovely asserted.
"No one in a position of power over a minor should be able to manipulate, groom, or assault them and then claim consent as a defense. With this legislation, we are making it clear if you commit these crimes, there will be no easy way out. The penalties this legislation proposes are strong, the sentences are mandatory, and the justice system will be empowered to seek justice for the often lifelong harm that these instances have on these individuals."
The DA feels this legislation will empower prosecutors to hold predators accountable and provide them with the tools to give justice to survivors. He is not alone in this thought.
The Pittsfield City Council voted to support this and other similar bills at its last meeting and within her first month in office, state Rep. Leigh Davis of the Third Berkshire filed a companion bill to Lovely's.
"For me, this is not just policy. It's personal," she said.
"As a legislator, a former educator, and a mother, including to a teenage daughter, I refuse to accept a legal system that protects predators instead of children. No child should ever hear the law won't protect them. No survivor should ever be told their abuser walks free because our laws have failed them."
She said Shugrue expressed "deep frustration" over the legal gap that left him with no way to hold the Miss Hall's teacher accountable. In a press release he said, "While the alleged behavior is profoundly troubling, it is not illegal."
"That's when I knew I had to act not just for this case, but for every young person in the commonwealth," she said.
"Sixteen may be the age of consent but when power, trust, and influence distort a young person's ability to say 'No' this is coercion. This is abuse. Other states, including Connecticut, have already closed this loophole. It's time for Massachusetts to step up. If we allow predators to manipulate the law, we are complicit."
Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said nobody has been more of a champion than Lovely when it comes to protecting children.
"When we talk about a special relationship that comes with special responsibility when we talk about educators, coaches, and I'm going to put it in the category of mentors, mentors who have such a strong influence over people, particularly in this 16 to 18-year-old age group," he said.
"This is really their formative years and the amount of damage that can be done by this sexual exploitation is just unimaginable."
Last month, the Department of Children and Families cleared two Pittsfield High School administrators who were put on leave for alleged misconduct in December. In early February, Executive Director of Enough Abuse Jetta Bernier pitched the nonprofit's services to the School Committee.
Bernier reported that a 2023 study found nearly 12 percent, or one in 8.5 students, described having some inappropriate sexual contact in their school with an adult sometime between kindergarten and Grade 12.
"Included in this notion of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct are misconduct that includes sexual comments or jokes, exposure to genitals or being shown or given sexual pictures, being sent sexual messages by phone or online, or having been touched in a sexual manner,"
"Most perpetrators we're learning about are teachers, coaches, gym teachers, though administrators, custodians, security guards, bus drivers, and other school employees are included in this group. We find that 90 percent of perpetrators in these cases are males, that over 70 percent who experienced educators' sexual misconduct were females and in high school at the time but let us remember that 30 percent of these cases involve elementary and middle school children. This is just unacceptable."
She explained that children reporting these cases is "quite low" because they are often embarrassed or have been manipulated to think it is their fault and nobody will believe them.
Lovely asked, "If your brain does not fully develop until the age of 26 How can you be consenting to a sexual relationship with a power imbalance at the age of 16?"
"You can't."
Tags: consent laws, district attorney, leigh davis, schools,
