Pittsfield Council Backs Age of Consent Legislation
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council continues to support legislation that targets child sex abuse.
On Tuesday, it unanimously endorsed House Bill 1634, state Rep. Leigh Davis' companion bill to legislation by state Sen. Joan Lovely of Salem. It aims to close the loophole in Massachusetts' statutory rape law by criminalizing sexual conduct between adults in positions of authority or trust 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.
"Reports of sexual misconduct in education settings have been steadily rising across the state. In Massachusetts, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has documented over 200 incidents of abuse involving teachers and school staff in the past year," Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi reported.
"Two hundred in the past year."
Lampiasi added that nearly 40 states have passed laws to address this problem, and Massachusetts is the last in New England that hasn't. She felt it was important to petition her colleagues for their support.
"We're Massachusetts. We're the best state in New England. What are we doing?" she asked.
Last year, District Attorney Timothy 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.
Sean Muellers, the father of a student taught by Rutledge at the private school, was shocked to learn that Massachusetts is one of the few states in the country that does not have a law that protects children from sexual abuse by people of authority.
"Nothing has been done for over eight years, these bills have been floundering. It's in large part because not enough of us have said anything and not enough of us in this room have done anything. That stops now," he said.
"We are very angry. We are very motivated. We are going to do all we can to implement these changes to protect the children."
In February, the council supported Lovely and Paul Mark's legislation aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse. During a virtual press conference earlier this month, Shugrue and other officials voiced support for the legislation. Shugrue also sent Lampiasi a letter of support that asserts "It is inconvincible that a young person, particularly a student, can consent to a sexual relationship with someone in a position of authority or trust."
"It's scary to me when you think about the vulnerable children that have been exploited, and I'm pleased to see that we are finally doing this in Massachusetts, but it is long overdue," Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso said.
Councilor at Large Earl Persip III said the Pittsfield council seems to be on top of this more than some people in the state house.
"I've said this before and I'll say it again: Everyone this bill has crossed before or this issue has crossed that's taken years to pass should be ashamed of themselves. A freshman representative had to bring it back up. It's been sitting on people's desks. This problem hasn't arose in the last six months or the last year or the last five years," he said.
"This problem's been going on for years, and everybody at the State House is sitting on their hands for some reason while every state around us is passing us on an issue like this. So anybody's desk this passed before, or this issue has been brought up before, and they didn't do anything to move it forward, you should be ashamed of yourself. Print it, write it. I'll send a letter myself. It's ridiculous."
In December, Pittsfield High administrators were put on leave after allegations surfaced. Both have since been cleared by the Department of Children and Families.
A student also filed a civil lawsuit against a now-retired teacher and the Pittsfield Public Schools for the teacher making inappropriate comments to her and to classmates and the district failing to act.
Tags: sex abuse,
