A former private school teacher in Massachusetts who called himself 'Mr. Wonderful' was formally charged with rape on Wednesday, two years after two of his former students came forward with allegations of sexual abuse.

Matthew Rutledge, 64, was indicted last month on one charge of felony rape connected to former Miss Hall's School student Hilary Simon and two counts of rape in connection with Melissa Fares, another former student at the all-girls school in Pittsfield, NBC News reports.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in Berkshire Superior Court on Wednesday, and was released on his own recognizance on the condition that he have no contact with either alleged victim - who were seen sitting in the front row for the hearing, according to The Berkshire Eagle.

Rutledge, wearing a white shirt and blazer, exited the courtroom immediately after the hearing - passing by Simon and Fares on his way out.

But outside the courthouse, the two women spoke out.

'Today, Matthew Rutledge was arraigned for raping me,' Simon, 39, told reporters, the Boston Globe reports.

'He began grooming me at 15 years old... and his abuse of me continued for years after I left that campus.' 

Fares, 33, also said the arraignment is 'so many things - long overdue, earned.

'Today I was in the same room as Matt Rutledge and for the first time I held the power,' she said. 

Meanwhile, in a statement, Miss Hall's School - which charges up to $75,600 a year for international boarders - said the arraignment hearing was an 'important and painful moment for our community.'

It said 'this news brings to the surface varied emotions about the sexual misconduct that is a painful part of our school's history,' WCVB reports.

'We are sorry for the harm that survivors have experienced and the impact on our entire community,' school officials said. 'Our ongoing focus is on student safety and wellbeing, and moving forward together toward healing, recognizing that healing will look different for each of us.' 

Fares first came forward with her allegations against Rutledge in March 2024, when she posted on Facebook that the history teacher and coach had sexually assaulted her between 2007 and 2010.

Simon then spoke out about her own alleged experience, saying Rutledge kissed her and told her he loved her at her graduation in 2005.

Both women described grooming that began when they were 14 or 15, escalating to sexual contact after they turned 16.

Fares said on Wednesday she was inspired to speak out about what she had been through after she met Simon and realized she 'wasn't alone anymore.' 

'That changed everything,' Fares said. 'She and several others came forward too - not because they had to, but because they chose to - absolute queens. I'll never be able to thank them enough.'

Simon, meanwhile, said Fares encouraged her to speak up.

She said she had 'fought this privately for 20 years' and has 'been fighting it publicly for two.'

'Before any of 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 had buried. And then Melissa Fares called,' Simon recounted. 

'I did not know Melissa,' she noted. But, she said, 'I picked up the phone and I told her I had been waiting for that call for 20 years.' 

Rutledge resigned from the school amid the allegations, as both Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue's office and the school launched their own investigations into the allegations.

Shugrue then decided not to pursue charges against the former teacher, as Massachusetts' age of consent is 16 - the age Simon and Fares allege the sexual abuse began - though they have maintained they did not actually consent to any sexual acts.

At the same time, the school hired a law firm to investigate the misconduct claims.

In a 60-page report, the firm concluded that Rutledge abused at least five students over two decades and that administrators repeatedly failed to act on warnings, reported Boston.com.

The report, based on school records and 158 interviews with alumni and current students, as well as current and former employees, described Rutledge as a 'larger than life' figure at the all-girls school, who would bellow 'Make way for Mr Wonderful' as he walked down the hallways.

It found he engaged in 'grooming behavior, sexual advances, sexual touching, and forcible oral and vaginal intercourse,' amounting to 'egregious patterns of grooming and sexual misconduct.'

One student said Rutledge had sexual contact and intercourse with her multiple times during her junior and senior years, including 'at his house when she was babysitting his children, in his classroom, and in other rooms/locations on campus.' 

Another student said that on graduation day, Rutledge 'pulled' her into his classroom, gave her a letter and gift, hugged her for a long time, kissed her goodbye, and told her he 'loved' her. The same student said he later engaged in 'forceful' and 'animalistic' vaginal and oral intercourse with her.

Other accounts described threats and coercion: one student said Rutledge 'threatened [her] often that he would kill himself' if she reported him, while another said he made her believe she would 'not get into college' if she spoke up.

The report also found that in the 1990s, a senior student was punished for saying Rutledge was 'having sex' with international students and was forced to write an 'apology' letter.

Investigators also substantiated allegations against seven other former employees, exposing a pattern of misconduct spanning decades. 

School officials later sent the damning report to the District Attorney's Office, which said it detailed a 'pervasive and chronic pattern of inappropriate staff conduct' at the school.

Shugrue's office then reassigned the case to a new team of prosecutors and the Berkshire State Police Department Unit, who brought the matter before a grand jury earlier this year. 

Outside of the courthouse on Wednesday, Shugrue addressed the initial decision not to charge the former teacher.

He said that after comparing the law enforcement investigatory work with the findings of the law firm 'we were able to charge Matthew Rutledge with three counts of rape.'

The district attorney did not detail what evidence the comparison yielded and said he was limited in what he could say publicly to protect the integrity of the pending case.

He then urged other victims to come forward, and stressed that they would not have to identify themselves publicly, as Fares and Simon chose to do.

Simon then echoed that call.

'To every survivor listening: You do not owe anyone your story,' she said. 'You do not owe anyone a timeline. You don't have to do this in the way that I did, but know this: you are not alone. It was never your fault. And if you need courage for what comes next, borrow mine.'

Rutledge is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on June 18.