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.