Former students confront Mr Wonderful’s teacher who is accused of serious crimes

A former private school teacher, nicknamed Mr. Wonderful, he has been charged with three counts of rape involving two of his former students.

Matthew Rutledge, 64, entered Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Wednesday to appear after Melissa Fares, 33, and Hilary Simon, 39, accused their teacher of abusing them while they were students at Miss Hall’s School. The abuse allegedly took place between 2000 and 2010. He pleaded not guilty.

The allegations include allegations that Rutledge coached and repeatedly harassed students, according to a statement released by the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office.

“For a long time, I lived inside the trauma without fully understanding it,” Fares said in a statement released by the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. “It wasn’t until the last few years that I began to piece together the truth of what happened to me: that Matt Rutledge had used me, abused me and raped me. That I had been coached and threatened into silence by a predator. That my youth was not my youth at all.”

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Simon said she was 15 when Rutledge began “grooming” her, and that the abuse “continued for years” after she left school.

“I have fought this in private for 20 years,” his statement read. “I’ve been fighting openly for two. Before this, I was just a normal person. A lawyer. A wife and a mother. A woman trying to build a life on top of something I buried. Then Melissa Fares called. I didn’t know Melissa. I picked up the phone, and I told her I’d been waiting for that call for 20 years.”

According to NBC, citing a report prepared by Miss Hall’s School, Rutledge allegedly shouted “Make way for Mr. Wonderful” as he walked down the hallways.

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Miss Hall’s School, a private preparatory college and day school for girls in grades 9 through 12, is located in Massachusetts. (Google Maps)

Fares and Simon said they discovered in 2024 that they had similar accounts of Rutledge’s alleged abuse and decided to file charges together.

Despite their allegations, the district attorney’s office at the time declined to pursue the case, citing Massachusetts’ age of consent law at the time, which allowed an adult to have sex with someone over the age of 16, according to the women.

The two women then pushed for legislation to close what they called a “legal loophole” and make it illegal for a teacher to sleep with a student.

Rutledge has now been charged under different rape laws. Prosecutors did not say publicly what led to the decision to charge Rutledge.

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Two of Rutledge’s students tried to file charges in 2024, but Massachusetts’ age of consent law prevented the district attorney from pursuing the case, the women said. (Getty Images)

Rutledge was charged by the District Attorney’s office last month.

Speaking at a press conference following the hearing, Fares told reporters that Miss Hall’s School was aware of Rutledge’s alleged behavior.

“Miss Hall’s school knew,” she said. “We all knew this school. They allowed a culture of abuse for decades. They failed us, our families and all the girls who hoped to protect her. She must also be held accountable.”

Miss Hall’s school said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital that it is cooperating with authorities and acknowledges the impact on its community.

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“Wednesday’s hearing was an important and painful moment for our community,” the school said. “We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities. We apologize for the damage the survivors suffered and the impact on our community.”

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 18, according to WCVB.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.