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{{short description|American teacher convicted of the statutory rape of a 13-year old boy}} {{short description|American sex offender (1962–2020)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox criminal
{{recent death|Letourneau, Mary|date=July 7 2020}}
| name = Mary Kay Letourneau
| image = Mary_Kay_Letourneau.jpg
| caption = Letourneau in an undated photograph during her teaching career
| alt = Letourneau smiling
| birth_name = Mary Katherine Schmitz
| alias = Mary Kay Fualaau
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|1|30}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|7|6|1962|1|30}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_place = ], U.S.
| conviction = ] (2 counts)
| penalty = {{frac|7|1|2}} years in prison
| alma_mater = ]
| occupation = Teacher, paralegal
| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Steve Letourneau|1984|1999|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|Vili Fualaau|2005|2019|end=separated}}}}
| children = 6
{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
| child = yes
| name = Mary Kay Letourneau
| image = | parents = {{ubl|]|Mary E. Suehr}}
| relatives = {{ubl|] (brother)|] (brother)}}
| image_size =
}}
| birth_name = Mary Katherine Schmitz
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|01|30}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|07|07|1962|01|30}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| caption =
| criminal charge = ]
| criminal status = Free
| spouse = {{marriage|Steve Letourneau|1984|1999|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Vili Fualaau|2005|2019|end=divorced}}
| children = 6
| father = ]
| relatives = ] (brother)
}} }}
'''Mary Katherine Schmitz''' (formerly '''Letourneau'''; January 30, 1962 – July 7, 2020) was an American schoolteacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony ], '''Vili Fualaau''', who was 12 or 13<!--NOTE: Because many sources state "12" and others state "13," there was agreement to use both ages for now; see the talk page or its archives about this.--> at the time and had been her sixth-grade student. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's child. With the state seeking a six-and-a-half year prison sentence, she reached a ] calling for six months in jail, with three months suspended, and no contact with Fualaau for life among other terms. The case received national attention.


'''Mary Katherine Fualaau'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dam.tmz.com/document/79/o/2020/07/23/792c6bd7dc334dbba3e8e6d0e90f7cf1.pdf |title=Certificate of Death |publisher=] |access-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref> (previously '''Letourneau''', née '''Schmitz'''; January 30, 1962 – July 6, 2020) was an American teacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony ] and subsequently married her former student. The case received national attention.
Shortly after spending three months in jail, the police caught Letourneau in a car with Fualaau. A judge revoked her plea agreement and re-instated the prison sentence for the maximum allowed by law of seven-and-a-half years.<ref name="ap reinstated">{{cite web | url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html|title = LE TOURNEAU CASE: Police check reports that teacher resumed sexual relations with boy |date = February 8, 1998 | accessdate = September 11, 2019 | agency = ] | work = ] }}</ref> Eight months after returning to prison, she gave birth to Fualaau's second child, another daughter.<ref name=Can't>{{cite news|title=MARY KAY LETOURNEAU: Teenage father can't wait to see newborn daughter|work=]|publisher=]|date=October 19, 1998|accessdate=April 3, 2019|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/10-19/0012_mary_kay_letourneau__teenage_fath.html}}</ref> She was imprisoned from 1998 to 2004. Letourneau and Fualaau began a 14-year marriage in May 2005.<ref name="SPI">{{cite news|first= Kimberly A.C. |last= Wilson |title= Letourneau May Be Transferred to Out-of-State Prison |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mary18.shtml |department= Local |work= ] |date= March 18, 1999 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=May 2017|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="SPI-Wedding">{{cite news |title= Letourneau Marries Fualaau Amid Media Circus |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Letourneau-marries-Fualaau-amid-media-circus-1174066.php |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= May 21, 2005 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Yahoo Entertainment">{{cite news |title= Mary Kay Letourneau's Separation from Viki Fualaau is Final, Says Source: 'Everything is Split Up' |url= https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mary-kay-letourneaus-separation-vili-175117476.html |work= Yahoo Entertainment |date= August 22, 2019 |access-date= August 22, 2019}}</ref>


Mary Schmitz met Steve Letourneau while attending Arizona State University; they married out of social pressure and had four children together over the years. Their marriage was unhappy. After achieving a teaching degree in 1989, Mary Letourneau started working at an elementary school in ]. In September 1991, she first met Vili Fualaau, a second-grade pupil. Letourneau admired Fualaau's artistic abilities and kept in touch while not being his teacher. Letourneau and Fualaau met again in the fall of 1995, in sixth grade class. In June 1996, Letourneau, aged 34, engaged in ] with Fualaau, aged 12.<ref name="WDBJ_4/4/2002" /><ref name="People_7/8/2020" /><!--NOTE: Because many sources state "12" and others state "13," there was an agreement to use both ages; see the talk page or its archives about this. But now that we have a news report clearly stating he was 12 years old, we are going with that. --> In September, she found out she was pregnant with Fualaau's child.
==Early life and education==
Mary Katherine Schmitz was born in 1962 in ], the daughter of Mary E. ({{née}} Suehr), a former chemist, and ] (1930–2001), a community college instructor.<ref name= "Famtree">{{cite web |title= California Births, 1905–1995 |url=http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/calbirths?c=search&first=Mary&last=Schmitz&spelling=Exact&4_year=&4_month=0&4_day=0&5=&7=&SubmitSearch.x=0&SubmitSearch.y=0 |work= Family Tree Legends Records Collection |type= Online database |publisher= Pearl Street Software |year= 2005 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="warrick-4">{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |work= ] |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |page= 4 |url= http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/29/news/ls-45407?pg=3}}</ref> She was known as Mary Kay to her family and called "Cake" by her father.<ref name= "Spi-MK-Dad2">{{cite news |title= Mary Kay Letourneau's Father Dies |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mary12.shtml |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= January 12, 2001 |access-date= May 12, 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=April 2014|bot=RjwilmsiBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> She was the fourth of seven children, raised in a "strict Catholic household."<ref name="Spi-MK-Dad2"/><ref name="trutv.com">{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=The Politician's Family |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |via=truTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107032118/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |archivedate=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> When Letourneau was two years old, her father began a political career and successfully ran as a Republican for a seat in the state legislature.<ref name="trutv.com"/> He held positions as a ] and ], winning a special election for an unexpired term in 1970 and the general election later that year. After a primary defeat in 1972, he changed parties and ran for ] as an ] candidate in the ].<ref name="articles.latimes.com">{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |work= Los Angeles Times |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |pages= 1–4|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/29/news/ls-45407}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> In 1973, Letourneau's three-year-old brother drowned in the family pool at their home in the Spyglass Hill section of ] while she played with another brother in the shallow end.<ref name="articles.latimes.com"/>


Mary Letourneau was arrested in March 1997, after a relative of her husband contacted the police. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's daughter. With the state seeking a seven and a half year prison sentence, she reached a ] calling for six months in jail with three months suspended and no contact with Fualaau for life, among other terms. Shortly after Letourneau had completed three months in jail, the police caught her in a car with Fualaau. A judge revoked her plea agreement and reinstated the prison sentence for the maximum allowed by law of seven and a half years.<ref name="ap reinstated">{{cite news| url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html| title = Le Tourneau Case: Police check reports that teacher resumed sexual relations with boy| date = February 8, 1998| access-date = September 11, 2019| agency = ]| work = ]| archive-date = December 24, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191224233709/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> Eight months after returning to prison, she gave birth to Fualaau's second child, another daughter.<ref name="Can't">{{cite news|title=Mary Kay Letourneau: Teenage father can't wait to see newborn daughter|agency=]|publisher=]|date=October 19, 1998|access-date=April 3, 2019|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/10-19/0012_mary_kay_letourneau__teenage_fath.html|archive-date=May 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527061745/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/10-19/0012_mary_kay_letourneau__teenage_fath.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Letourneau attended ], an all-girls' ] in ], where she was a member of the ] squad for ]. She later attended ].<ref name="trutv1">{{cite book |last= Noe |first= Denise|title= Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter= The Politician's Family |chapter-url= http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |via= TruTV.com Crime Library}}</ref>


Letourneau was imprisoned from 1998 to 2004, spending half a year in ] for her communication attempts with Fualaau. After her release, she and Fualaau successfully petitioned to the court to have their no-contact order lifted. Mary Letourneau and Vili Fualaau were married in May 2005. The marriage lasted 14 years, until their separation in 2019.<ref name="SPI">{{cite news|first= Kimberly A.C. |last= Wilson |title= Letourneau May Be Transferred to Out-of-State Prison |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mary18.shtml |department= Local |work= ] |date= March 18, 1999 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=May 2017|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="SPI-Wedding">{{cite news |title= Letourneau Marries Fualaau Amid Media Circus |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Letourneau-marries-Fualaau-amid-media-circus-1174066.php |department= Local |newspaper=] |date= May 21, 2005 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Yahoo Entertainment">{{cite news|date=August 22, 2019|title=Mary Kay Letourneau's Separation from Vili Fualaau is Final, Says Source: 'Everything is Split Up'|publisher=]|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mary-kay-letourneaus-separation-vili-175117476.html|access-date=16 Jul 2021}}</ref> Letourneau died in 2020, aged 58, from ], leaving much of her estate to Fualaau.
In 1978, her father was re-elected as a Republican to the California State Senate. He intended to run for the U.S. Senate in 1982, but his political career was permanently damaged that year when it was revealed that he had fathered two children out of wedlock during an affair with a mistress, a former student at ], where he had taught political science.<ref name="Spin Magazine, June 1998, p 124">{{cite magazine |first= Matthew |last= Stadler |title= Statutory Rape, A Love Story |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ij4Wc-5krxYC&pg=PA122 |magazine= Spin |date= June 1998 |volume= 14 |issue= 6 |pages= 112–125 at 124}}</ref> Her father's affair caused Letourneau's parents to separate, but they later reconciled.<ref name="warrick-4"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=Scandal of the Second Family |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/3.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107002309/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/3.html |archivedate=January 7, 2014 }}</ref>


== Early life ==
Letourneau's brother ] was the deputy ] to President ].<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/01/12/conservative-gop-congressman-john-g-schmitz-70-dies/d1dc7a2d-458c-4ef4-8f0d-398dfb8d54b4/ |title= Conservative GOP Congressman John G. Schmitz, 70, Dies |work= ] |last= Bernstein |first= Adam |date= January 12, 2001 |page= B7 }}</ref> Her other brother, ], was ] under President ],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Staff Writer|title=Joseph E. Schmitz|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/466/000104154/|website=NNDB|publisher=NNDB}}</ref> was a senior executive with ], and is a foreign policy adviser to President ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/25/donald_trumps_top_foreign_adviser_joseph|title=Donald Trump's Top Foreign Adviser, Joseph Schmitz, is a former Blackwater Executive|author=|date=|website=democracynow.org}}</ref>
Mary Katherine Schmitz was born in 1962 in ], to Mary E. ({{née}} Suehr), a former chemist, and ] (1930–2001), a community college instructor and politician.<ref name="Famtree">{{cite news |title= California Births, 1905–1995 |url=http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/calbirths?c=search&first=Mary&last=Schmitz&spelling=Exact&4_year=&4_month=0&4_day=0&5=&7=&SubmitSearch.x=0&SubmitSearch.y=0 |work= Family Tree Legends Records Collection |type= Online database |publisher= Pearl Street Software |year= 2005 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="warrick-4">{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |newspaper= ] |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |page= 4 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-ls-45407-story.html}}</ref> She was known as Mary Kay to her family.<ref name="Spi-MK-Dad2">{{cite news |title= Mary Kay Letourneau's Father Dies |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mary12.shtml |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= January 12, 2001 |access-date= May 12, 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=April 2014|bot=RjwilmsiBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Letourneau was the third of seven children and the first daughter, raised in a "strict Catholic household."<ref name="Spi-MK-Dad2" /><ref name="trutv.com">{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=The Politician's Family |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |via=truTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107032118/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |archive-date=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> Her father was a member of the right-wing ].


When Mary Kay was two years old, her father began a political career, successfully running as a Republican for a seat in the state legislature.<ref name="trutv.com"/> He held positions as a ] and ], winning a special election for an unexpired term in 1970, and the general election later that year. After a primary defeat in 1972, he changed parties and ran for president as an ] candidate in the ].<ref name=LosAngelesTimes>{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |newspaper= ] |location=Los Angeles, California|date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |pages= 1–4|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-ls-45407-story.html}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/01/12/conservative-gop-congressman-john-g-schmitz-70-dies/d1dc7a2d-458c-4ef4-8f0d-398dfb8d54b4/ |title= Conservative GOP Congressman John G. Schmitz, 70, Dies |newspaper= ] |last= Bernstein |first= Adam |date= January 12, 2001 |page= B7 }}</ref> In 1973, Philip Schmitz, one of Mary's Kay's brothers, drowned in the family pool at their home in the Spyglass Hill section of ], at the age of three while she was playing with another brother in the shallow end.<ref name=LosAngelesTimes/> While no one was held responsible for the toddler's death, Mary Kay later claimed that the incident caused a rift between her and her mother as she said her parents tasked her with minding her brothers and her mother had become "cold" with her afterwards.
==First marriage==
While attending ], Mary Schmitz met and married fellow student Steve Letourneau, and she conceived the first of four children with him.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ph.D|first1=Steven Chermak|last2=Ph.D|first2=Frankie Y. Bailey|title=Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History |url=https://books.google.com/?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA469&lpg=PA469&dq=Arizona+State+University,+Mary+Kay+Schmitz#v=onepage&q=Arizona%20State%20University%2C%20Mary%20Kay%20Schmitz&f=false|publisher=ABC-CLIO|accessdate=April 5, 2017|language=en|date=January 25, 2016|isbn=9781610695947}}</ref> She later said that she was not in love with Steve and married him after being urged to do so by her parents. The couple moved to ],<ref name="trutv2">{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=Marrying Mr. Right Now |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/4.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107001549/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/4.html |archivedate=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> where Steve found work as a baggage handler for ].<ref name="trutv2"/> After a year in ], her husband was transferred to ], ], and Mary gave birth to their second child. She graduated from ] in 1989 with a teaching degree.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 | title=Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History &#91;3 volumes&#93;: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History| isbn=9781610695947| last1=Steven Chermak Ph| first1=D.| last2=Frankie| first2=Y. Bailey PH D.| date=January 25, 2016}}</ref> She began teaching second grade at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of ].


Letourneau attended ], an all-girls' ] in ], where she was a member of the ] squad for ]. She later attended ].<ref>{{cite book |last= Noe |first= Denise|title= Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter= The Politician's Family |chapter-url= http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |via= TruTV.com Crime Library |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140107032118/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/2.html |archivedate= 2014-01-07}}</ref>
The Letourneaus' marriage reportedly suffered; they had financial problems and both parties engaged in extramarital affairs.<ref name="trutv2"/> Her attorney and former neighbor, David Gehrke, said that she was "emotionally and physically abused by her husband" during their marriage, and twice "went to the hospital for treatment, and police were called," although no charges were ever filed.<ref>{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |work= Los Angeles Times |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |page= 6 |url= http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/29/news/ls-45407?pg=6}}</ref> While imprisoned for child rape in May 1999, she divorced her husband, and he gained custody of their four children.<ref name="Spi-Alaska">{{cite news|first=Candy |last=Hatcher |title=Letourneau Can Profit from Story, Appeals Court Rules |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mklet19.shtml |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=April 19, 2000 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2010, the Letourneaus became grandparents when their oldest son had a daughter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mary-kay-letourneau-tours-nyc-modern-family-exclusive-article-1.2179793|title=Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau and kids tour New York as modern family: EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS|first=Nina|last=Golgowski|website=nydailynews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquisitr.com/96922/mary-kay-letourneau-becomes-a-grandmother/|title=Mary Kay Letourneau becomes a grandmother|website=inquisitr.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thestir.cafemom.com/politics_views/115541/mary_kay_letourneau_becomes_grandmother|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Becomes Grandmother, Is Still Clueless|date=January 28, 2011|website=CafeMom}}</ref>


In 1978, her father was re-elected as a Republican to the California State Senate. He intended to run for the U.S. Senate in 1982, but his political career was permanently damaged that year when it was revealed that he had fathered two children out of wedlock during an extramarital affair with a former student at ], where he had taught political science.<ref name="Spin">{{cite magazine |first= Matthew |last= Stadler |title= Statutory Rape, A Love Story |url= {{GBurl|ij4Wc-5krxYC|p=114}} |magazine= ]|date= June 1998 |volume= 14 |issue= 6 |pages=114–125}}</ref>{{rp|124}} Her father's affair caused Letourneau's parents to separate, but they later reconciled.<ref name="warrick-4" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=Scandal of the Second Family |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/3.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107002309/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/3.html |archive-date=January 7, 2014 }}</ref>
== Crime and sentencing ==


== First marriage ==
Born June 26, 1983,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/personality/vili-fualaau|title=Vili Fualaau|website=Biography}}</ref> Vili Fualaau, a ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hollywoodlife.com/celeb/vili-fualaau/#!|title=Vili Fualaau|first=Alyssa|last=Norwin|date=April 9, 2015|website=hollywoodlife.com}}</ref> was Letourneau's student in both his second-grade and sixth-grade classes at Shorewood Elementary.<ref name=gartner45>{{cite book |last= Gartner |first= Richard B. |authorlink= Richard Gartner |title= Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lpfT4zUb2rsC |via= ] |access-date= May 12, 2009 |year= 1999 |publisher= Guilford Press |location= New York |isbn= 978-1-57230-644-8 |oclc= 317520944 |page= 45 |chapter= Encoding Sexual Abuse as Sexual Initiation |chapterurl= https://books.google.com/books?id=lpfT4zUb2rsC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#PPA45,M1 |lccn= 98055694}}</ref> When she was 34, in the summer of 1996, her relationship with the 12 or 13-year-old<!--NOTE: Because many sources state "12" and others state "13," there was agreement to use both ages for now; see the talk page or its archives about this.--> Fualaau turned from platonic to sexual.<ref name= "Spi-SO"/> On June 18, 1996, police came upon Letourneau in a car with Fualaau in a marina parking lot. She was seen jumping into the front seat while Fualaau pretended to sleep in the back. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification and Letourneau lied about his age, saying that he was 18.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996">{{cite news|title=Boy, mom file suit over him having sex with teacher|work=]|date=May 13, 2002|accessdate=April 3, 2019|url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/05/13/ctv.letourneau/index.html}}</ref> Fualaau said that no touching had taken place. Letourneau said she and her husband had gotten into an argument, and that Fualaau, who she said was a family friend who had been staying with them that night, witnessed the argument and ran away upset. She said she left to find him.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996"/> Letourneau and Fualaau were taken to the police station, where Fualaau's mother was called. The mother was asked what should be done, and said to return Fualaau to Letourneau. She later said that if the police had alerted her to the fact that Letourneau had lied about Fualaau's age and what had occurred in the car, she would not have allowed her son to go back to Letourneau.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996"/> Letourneau was arrested in March 1997 after a relative of her husband contacted the police.<ref name= "People"/><ref name="CBS073004">{{cite news |first= Tatiana |last= Morales |title= What's Next For LeTourneau? |url= http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/30/earlyshow/living/main633157.shtml |work= ] |publisher= CBS |date= August 3, 2004 |access-date= June 1, 2009}}</ref>
While attending ], Mary Schmitz met fellow student Steve Letourneau. She later found out she was pregnant by him, which had led to complications one day in class when she had to be rushed to the emergency room. Doctors found that she had been carrying twins, but one embryo was lost to miscarriage. Mary Kay gave birth to the surviving twin, the first of the couple's four children.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chermak, Ph.D |first1=Steven |last2=Bailey, Ph.D |first2=Frankie Y. |title=Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&q=Arizona+State+University,+Mary+Kay+Schmitz&pg=PA469|publisher=ABC-CLIO |access-date=April 5, 2017 |language=en |date=January 25, 2016 |isbn=9781610695947}}</ref> She later said that she was not in love with Steve, but she married him after being urged to do so by her parents. Steve also lacked romantic feelings but was also pressured by his parents and willing to marry. Both Steve and Mary Kay dropped out of ASU. The couple moved to ],<ref name="trutv2">{{cite book|last=Noe |first=Denise |title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that Was a Crime |chapter=Marrying Mr. Right Now |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/4.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107001549/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/4.html |archive-date=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> where Steve found work as a baggage handler for ].<ref name="trutv2" /> After a year in Alaska, Steve was transferred to ], ], where Mary subsequently gave birth to their second child. Determined to get a career in education, Mary Kay enrolled in ] and was awarded a teaching degree in 1989.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 | title=Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History &#91;3 volumes&#93;: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History| isbn=9781610695947| last1=Steven Chermak Ph| first1=D.| last2=Frankie| first2=Y. Bailey PH D.| date=January 25, 2016| publisher=Abc-Clio}}</ref> She began teaching second grade at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mary Kay Letourneau, teacher jailed for raping student, has died, report says|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mary-kay-letourneau-teacher-jailed-for-raping-student-has-died-report-says/|first=Elise|last=Takahama|date=July 7, 2020|access-date=July 7, 2020|newspaper=The Seattle Times}}</ref>


The Letourneaus' marriage suffered. They had financial problems, and each party engaged in multiple extramarital affairs.<ref name="trutv2" /> Her attorney and former neighbor, David Gehrke, said that she was "emotionally and physically abused by her husband" during their marriage, and twice "went to the hospital for treatment, and the police were called,” although no charges were filed.<ref>{{cite news |last= Warrick |first= Pamela |title= The Fall from Spyglass Hill |work= Los Angeles Times |date= April 29, 1998 |access-date= October 22, 2009 |page= 6 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-ls-45407-story.html}}</ref> In May 1999, they divorced while Mary was imprisoned, and Steve gained custody of their four children.<ref name="Spi-Alaska">{{cite news|first=Candy |last=Hatcher |title=Letourneau Can Profit from Story, Appeals Court Rules |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mklet19.shtml |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=April 19, 2000 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2010, the Letourneaus became grandparents when their oldest son had a daughter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mary-kay-letourneau-tours-nyc-modern-family-exclusive-article-1.2179793|title=Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau and kids tour New York as modern family: Exclusive Photos |first=Nina|last=Golgowski|website=nydailynews.com|date=April 10, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inquisitr.com/96922/mary-kay-letourneau-becomes-a-grandmother/|title=Mary Kay Letourneau becomes a grandmother|website=inquisitr.com|date=January 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thestir.cafemom.com/politics_views/115541/mary_kay_letourneau_becomes_grandmother|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Becomes Grandmother, Is Still Clueless|date=January 28, 2011|website=CafeMom|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605170943/http://thestir.cafemom.com/politics_views/115541/mary_kay_letourneau_becomes_grandmother|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Letourneau pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. Her first child with Fualaau, a daughter, was born in May 1997 while she was awaiting sentencing.<ref name="people 2015">{{cite news|last1=McAfee|first1=Tierney|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Reveals First Sexual Encounter with Vili Fualaau|url=http://people.com/tv/mary-kay-letourneau-reveals-first-sexual-encounter-with-vili-fualaau/|accessdate=April 5, 2017|work=PEOPLE.com|publisher=Time Inc.|date=April 10, 2015|language=en}}</ref> The state sought to sentence her to six-and-a-half years in prison.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1997/11-16/0002_letourneau_sentence_upsets_social.html | title = LeTourneau sentence upsets social workers | date= November 16, 1997 | accessdate = September 11, 2019 | agency = ] | work = ] }}</ref> Through a plea agreement, her sentence was reduced to six months (three of which were suspended) in the county jail and three years of sex offender treatment.<ref name="heinonline1">{{cite magazine |last= Stennis |first= Joe, Jr. |date= July 2006 |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jle35&div=36&id=&page= |title= Equal Protection Dilemma: Why Male Adolescent Students Need Federal Protection from Adult Female Teachers Who Prey on Them |journal= ] |volume= 35 |issue= 3 |pages= 355+ |via= HeinOnline |access-date= October 3, 2010}}</ref> She was not required initially to register as a ].<ref name="heinonline1"/> As part of her plea agreement, Letourneau could not contact Fualaau or her five children, or have contact with any other minors.<ref name="ap reinstated"/><ref name="heinonline1"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Mankiewicz|first1=Josh|title=A love like no other|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13106958/ns/dateline_nbc/t/love-no-other/#.XVYRxOhKhYY|accessdate=August 15, 2019|work=NBCNews.com|date=June 2, 2006|language=en}}</ref> She became the subject of an international tabloid scandal,<ref name="historylink">{{Cite news|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/5727|title=Letourneau, Mary Kay (b. 1962)|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-13/0005_teacher_s_lawyer_warned_groupies.html|title=Teacher's lawyer warned groupies|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=}}</ref> and experienced symptoms of degraded mental health according to acquaintances.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-11/0002_report__letourneau_confused__impu.html|title=Report: Letourneau confused, impulsive|last=|first=|date=|work=|access-date=}}</ref>


== Crime, arrest, and sentencing ==
On February 3, 1998,<ref name=Noe>{{cite book|first=Denise |last=Noe |title=Mary K. Letourneau Facts of the Case |chapter=The Deal Goes Dude |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |access-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421001644/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html |archivedate=April 21, 2012 }}</ref> two weeks after completing her jail sentence, Letourneau was found by police in a car with Fualaau near her home. Letourneau initially said she was alone in the car. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification.<ref name="Sent to prison">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/07/parole-revoked-ex-teacher-sent-to-prison-in-teen-sex-case/ed36067d-b2b7-49f6-962e-241b15ff579b/|title=PAROLE REVOKED, EX-TEACHER SENT TO PRISON IN TEEN SEX CASE|last=|first=|work=]|date=February 7, 1998|access-date=March 15, 2019}}</ref> Although it was reported that sexual intercourse had occurred in the car,<ref>{{cite news|title=No-contact order lifted for ex-teacher in teen sex case|newspaper=]|date=August 7, 2004|accessdate=April 3, 2019|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-08-07-0408070164-story.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau's Relationship Through the Years — from Prison to Marriage|magazine=]|date=May 30, 2017 |last=Baker|first=KC |url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-and-vili-fualaaus-relationship-through-the-years/ |quote= In February 1998, after she was released from prison, police spotted Letourneau having sex with Fualaau in her car.| access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref> Fualaau told a detective that he and Letourneau had kissed frequently and that he had touched Letourneau on the thigh, but that no sexual intercourse had occurred.<ref name="Sent to prison"/> There was evidence the two had met several times since Letourneau's release from jail on January 2.<ref name="Sent to prison"/> When she was arrested, police found $6,200 in cash, baby clothes, and her passport inside the car.<ref name="Spin">{{cite magazine |first= Matthew |last= Stadler |title= Statutory Rape, A Love Story |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ij4Wc-5krxYC&pg=PA124 |magazine= Spin |date= June 1998 |volume= 1 |issue= 6 |pages= 112–125 at 124–125}}</ref> Receipts for $850 in purchases made since January 20 for men's and young men's clothing and infant wear were found.<ref name="Sent to prison"/> Letourneau said that the money was for dermatology treatments and for her divorce lawyer, and that some of the men's clothing were gifts for relatives and for herself since she enjoyed wearing oversized men's clothing.<ref name="Sent to prison"/>
In September 1991, Letourneau first met '''Vili Fualaau''' ({{IPAc-en|'|v|ɪ|l|i|_|f|ʊ|'|l|aʊ}}; born June 26, 1983),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/personality/vili-fualaau|title=Vili Fualaau|website=Biography|date=October 28, 2021 }}</ref> a child of ] descent,<ref name=gartner45>{{cite book |last= Gartner |first= Richard B. |author-link= Richard Gartner |title= Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lpfT4zUb2rsC |via= ] |access-date= May 12, 2009 |date=1999 |publisher= Guilford Press |location= New York |isbn= 978-1-57230-644-8 |oclc= 317520944 |page= 45 |chapter= Encoding Sexual Abuse as Sexual Initiation |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lpfT4zUb2rsC |lccn= 98055694}}</ref> when he was her second-grade student at Shorewood Elementary School. She was reported to be a highly praised teacher by the students' parents.<ref>{{cite news |last1=K. Fitten |first1=Ronald |title=Burien Teacher's Sex With Student Leaves Lives And Trust Shattered -- Prison Possible, But She Hopes To Raise The 14-Year-Old's Baby |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19970725&slug=2551392 |access-date=22 October 2024 |publisher=The Seattle Times |date=25 July 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422062653/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19970725&slug=2551392 |archive-date=22 April 2024}}</ref> Letourneau described her view of Fualaau at that time as "the kind of feeling you have with a brother or sister". In subsequent years, while not being his teacher, she reportedly continued to cultivate Fualaau's artistic abilities.<ref name="People_7/8/2020" /> In the fall of 1995, Letourneau was once again Fualaau's teacher, this time for sixth grade. In January 1996, Letourneau, aged 34, suffered a miscarriage in her marriage. During the summer, Fualaau spent time in Letourneau's house to do schoolwork. ] reported Fualaau, aged 12, bet with a friend he would have sex with Letourneau and that she began fantasizing about him.<ref name="People_7/8/2020">{{cite web | author=People staff | title=Mary Kay Letourneau and Her Student: Inside the Relationship That Shocked a Nation | website=] | date=November 28, 2023 | url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-and-her-student-husband-vili-fualaau-now/ | access-date=October 22, 2024 |quote=For years, Mary Kay Letourneau and her former student Vili Fualaau professed their love for each other — even while she was in prison for raping him when he was a boy. }}</ref><ref name="WDBJ_4/4/2002">{{cite web | title=WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 04/04/02 | website=] | date=April 4, 2002 | url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/WDBJ-7/script_archives/02/0402/040402/040402.n.htm | access-date=December 12, 2021 |quote=Fualaau was just twelve years old when the affair with his teacher began. }}</ref><!--Talk page covers prior disagreement on Fualaau's age between 12/13yrs, but recent reporting has solidified his age at the initial encounter to 12yrs. -->


On June 18, 1996, police found Letourneau with Fualaau in a car parked at a marina. She was seen jumping into the front seat while Fualaau pretended to sleep in the back. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification, and Fualaau lied about his age, saying that he was 18.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996">{{cite news|title=Boy, mom file suit over him having sex with teacher|work=]|date=May 13, 2002|access-date=April 3, 2019|url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/05/13/ctv.letourneau/index.html|archive-date=March 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313230706/https://edition.cnn.com/2002/LAW/05/13/ctv.letourneau/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Fualaau said that no touching had taken place. Letourneau said she and her husband had gotten into an argument, and Fualaau, who she said was a family friend who had been staying with them that night, witnessed the argument and ran away, upset. She said she left to find him. Fualaau failed to furnish a driver's license or any government-issued ID card, but the patrolman deduced he was not an adult as claimed.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996" /> Letourneau and Fualaau were taken to the police station, where Fualaau's mother was called. Mrs. Fualaau said that Mrs. Letourneau was a well-known teacher of Vili's and had no issue with the two of them being in public. As such, the police dropped the matter. She later said that if the police had alerted her to the fact that Letourneau had lied about Fualaau's age and what had occurred in the car, she would not have allowed her son to go back to Letourneau.<ref name="Caught in car, 1996" />
In February 1998, the judge revoked Letourneau's prior plea agreement and re-instated the prison sentence of seven and a half years for violating the no-contact order.<ref name="ap reinstated"/><ref>{{cite web | url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-04/0011_letourneau_found_in_car_with_form.html | title = LeTourneau found in car with former student | date = February 4, 1998 | accessdate = September 11, 2019 | publisher = ] | via = ] }}</ref><ref name="Spin"/> In interviews and in a book on her involvement with Fualaau, Letourneau said she had sex with Fualaau in January.<ref name=Can't/> Police said they had seen no evidence that sex had occurred in the car in February.<ref>{{cite web|title=LE TOURNEAU CASE: Police check reports that teacher resumed sexual relations with boy|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html|website=Kitsap Sun}}</ref> Letourneau served her sentence in the ].<ref>https://www.doc.wa.gov/information/inmate-search/default.aspx</ref><ref>http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5594933/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/letourneau-gets-out-prison/#.Xkdiz-jYrnF</ref>


In September 1996, Letourneau was pregnant with Fualaau's child. On February 1997, Steve Letourneau found love letters written from his wife to Fualaau. Mary Letourneau was arrested on March 4, 1997, after a relative of her husband contacted the police.<ref name="People" /><ref name="CBS073004">{{cite news |first= Tatiana |last= Morales |title= What's Next For LeTourneau? |url= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-next-for-letourneau/ |work= ] |publisher= ] |date= August 3, 2004 |access-date= June 1, 2009}}</ref> Letourneau pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. Her first child with Fualaau, a daughter, was born on May 29, 1997,<ref name="people 2015" /> while she was awaiting sentencing.<ref name="people 2015">{{cite news|last1=McAfee|first1=Tierney|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Reveals First Sexual Encounter with Vili Fualaau|url=http://people.com/tv/mary-kay-letourneau-reveals-first-sexual-encounter-with-vili-fualaau/|access-date=April 5, 2017|work=] |date=April 10, 2015}}</ref> The state sought to sentence her to six and a half years in prison.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1997/11-16/0002_letourneau_sentence_upsets_social.html | title = LeTourneau sentence upsets social workers | date = November 16, 1997 | access-date = September 11, 2019 | agency = ] | work = ] | archive-date = February 1, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200201054122/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1997/11-16/0002_letourneau_sentence_upsets_social.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> Through a plea agreement, her sentence was reduced to six months (three of which were suspended) in the county jail and three years of sex offender treatment.<ref name="heinonline1">{{cite magazine |last= Stennis |first= Joe Jr. |date= July 2006 |url= http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jle35&div=36&id=&page= |title= Equal Protection Dilemma: Why Male Adolescent Students Need Federal Protection from Adult Female Teachers Who Prey on Them |journal= ] |volume= 35 |issue= 3 |pages= 355+ |via= HeinOnline |access-date= October 3, 2010}}</ref> She was not required initially to register as a ].<ref name="heinonline1" /> As part of her plea agreement, Letourneau could not contact Fualaau or her five children or have contact with any other minors.<ref name="ap reinstated" /><ref name="heinonline1" /><ref name="crime">{{cite news|last1=Mankiewicz|first1=Josh|title=A love like no other|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13106958|access-date=August 15, 2019|work=NBCNews.com|date=June 2, 2006}}</ref> She became the subject of an international tabloid scandal<ref name="historylink">{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/5727|title=Letourneau, Mary Kay (1962-2020) - HistoryLink.org|website=www.historylink.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-13/0005_teacher_s_lawyer_warned_groupies.html|title=Teacher's lawyer warned groupies|work=]|date=February 13, 1998|agency=]|access-date=March 3, 2019|archive-date=May 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524202338/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-13/0005_teacher_s_lawyer_warned_groupies.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and experienced symptoms of degraded mental health.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-11/0002_report__letourneau_confused__impu.html|title=Report: Letourneau confused, impulsive|work=]|date=February 11, 1998|agency=]|access-date=March 3, 2019|archive-date=February 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201060009/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-11/0002_report__letourneau_confused__impu.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In October 1998, while serving her second stint in jail, Letourneau gave birth to her second daughter by Fualaau.<ref name= "People"/> That year, Letourneau and Fualaau co-authored a book, which was published in France, called ''Only One Crime, Love'' ({{lang-fr|Un seul crime, l'amour}}).<ref name= "People"/> In 1999 a second book appeared, this one published in the United States, but written with only minimal cooperation from her, and none from Fualaau:<ref>{{cite news |first= Austin |last= Bunn |title= Prisoner of Love |work= ] |date= January 27, 2000 |url= https://www.salon.com/2000/01/27/letourneau/ |access-date= July 24, 2015}}</ref> ''If Loving You Is Wrong''.<ref>{{cite book |first= Gregg |last= Olsen |title= If Loving You Is Wrong |location= New York |publisher= St. Martin's Press |year= 1999 |isbn= 0312970129 |url=https://archive.org/details/iflovingyouiswro00olse|url-access= registration |page= }}{{page needed|date= January 2016}}</ref> During her imprisonment, Letourneau was allowed visits from her children but was denied permission to attend her father's funeral.<ref name="Spi-MK-Dad">{{cite news|title=Mary K. Letourneau's Father Dies: She Won't Get to Attend Funeral |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mkay11ww.shtml |department=Local |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=January 11, 2001 |access-date=May 12, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> While in prison Letourneau tutored fellow inmates, created audio books for blind readers, participated in the prison choir and "rarely missed Mass."<ref name= "People"/> Because of her notoriety, Letourneau was unpopular with other inmates, "sassed guards and balked at work" and, reportedly as punishment for this, spent "18 of her first 24 months" in solitary confinement.<ref name= "People">{{cite news |url= http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20150636,00.html |first= Jerome |last= Richard |date= July 26, 2004 |title= Together Again? |work= ] }}</ref> In one instance, Letourneau served six months in solitary when letters she tried to send to Fualaau were intercepted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107031427/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-01-07|title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance That was a Crime}}</ref>


On February 3, 1998,<ref name=Noe>{{cite book|first=Denise |last=Noe |title=Mary K. Letourneau Facts of the Case |chapter=The Deal Goes Dude |chapter-url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html |via=TruTV.com Crime Library |access-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421001644/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html |archive-date=April 21, 2012 }}</ref> four weeks after completing her jail sentence, Letourneau was found by police in a car with Fualaau near her home. Letourneau initially said she was alone in the car. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification.<ref name="Sent to prison">{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/07/parole-revoked-ex-teacher-sent-to-prison-in-teen-sex-case/ed36067d-b2b7-49f6-962e-241b15ff579b/ |title=Parole Revoked, Ex-teacher Sent to Prison in Teen Sex Case |newspaper=] |date=February 7, 1998 |access-date=March 15, 2019}}</ref> Although it was reported that sexual intercourse had occurred in the car, Fualaau told a detective that he and Letourneau had kissed, frequently, and he also reported that he had touched Letourneau on the thigh but that no sexual intercourse had occurred.<ref name="Sent to prison" /><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau's Relationship Through the Years — from Prison to Marriage|magazine=]|date=May 30, 2017 |last=Baker|first=KC |url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-and-vili-fualaaus-relationship-through-the-years/ |quote= In February 1998, after she was released from prison, police spotted Letourneau having sex with Fualaau in her car.| access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=No-contact order lifted for ex-teacher in teen sex case|newspaper=]|date=August 7, 2004|access-date=April 3, 2019|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-08-07-0408070164-story.html}}</ref> There was evidence the two had met, several times, since Letourneau's release from jail on January 2.<ref name="Sent to prison" /> When she was arrested, police found $6,200 in cash ({{Inflation|US|6200|1998|fmt=eq|r=-3}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}), baby clothes, and her passport inside the car.<ref name="Spin" />{{rp|124–125}} Receipts for $850 in purchases ({{Inflation|US|850|1998|fmt=eq|r=-2}}{{Inflation/fn|US}}) made since January 20 for men's, young men's, and infant clothing were also found.<ref name="Sent to prison" /> Letourneau said that the money was for dermatology treatments and for her divorce lawyer and that some of the men's clothing were gifts for relatives and for herself, since she enjoyed wearing oversized men's clothing.<ref name="Sent to prison" />
In 2002, Fualaau's family sued the Highline School District and the city of ], for emotional suffering, lost wages, and the costs of rearing his two children, claiming the school and the Des Moines Police Department had failed to protect him from Letourneau.<ref name= "Spi032202">{{cite news |first= Tracy |last= Johnson |title= Fualaau's Suit Says He Wasn't Protected from Letourneau |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Fualaau-s-suit-says-he-wasn-t-protected-from-1083448.php|department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= March 22, 2002 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref> Following a ten-week trial, no damages were awarded. Attorney ] represented the Des Moines Police Department. Her counterpart Michael Patterson represented the Highline School District.<ref name= "Spi052102">{{cite news |first= Sam |last= Skolnik |title= Schools, Police Absolved in Fualaau Case |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Schools-police-absolved-in-Fualaau-case-1087664.php |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= May 21, 2002 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref>


In February 1998, the judge revoked Letourneau's prior plea agreement and reinstated the prison sentence of seven and a half years for violating the no-contact order.<ref name="ap reinstated" /><ref>{{cite news | url = https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-04/0011_letourneau_found_in_car_with_form.html | title = LeTourneau found in car with former student | date = February 4, 1998 | access-date = September 11, 2019 | agency = ] | via = ] | archive-date = May 25, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200525042805/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-04/0011_letourneau_found_in_car_with_form.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Spin" /> In interviews and in a book on her involvement with Fualaau, Letourneau said she had sex with him in January.<ref name="Can't"/> Police said they had no evidence that sex occurred in the February car incident.<ref>{{cite web|title=Le Tourneau Case: Police check reports that teacher resumed sexual relations with boy|url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html|website=]|access-date=March 3, 2019|archive-date=December 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224233709/https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1998/02-08/0004_le_tourneau_case__police_check_re.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Letourneau served her sentence in the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.doc.wa.gov/information/inmate-search/default.aspx|title=Inmate Search &#124; Washington State Department of Corrections|website=www.doc.wa.gov|access-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5594933 |title=Letourneau gets out of prison – US news – Crime & courts |work=] |date=August 4, 2004 |access-date=July 8, 2020}}</ref>
== Release from prison and marriage to Fualaau ==
Passing unnoticed past hordes of reporters and gawkers,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Kay Letourneau released from prison|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-03-teacher-released_x.htm}}</ref> Letourneau was released from prison to a community placement program on August 4, 2004, and registered the following day with the King County Sheriff's Office as a ].<ref name= "Spi-SO">{{cite news |first= Sam |last= Skolnik |first2= Vanessa |last2= Ho |title= Letourneau Registers as Sex Offender |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Letourneau-registers-as-sex-offender-1150919.php |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= August 5, 2004 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref>


While serving her second stint in jail, Letourneau gave birth to her second daughter by Fualaau on October 16, 1998.<ref name="People" /> That year, Letourneau and Fualaau co-authored a book, which was published in France, called ''Only One Crime, Love'' ({{langx|fr|Un seul crime, l'amour}}).<ref name="People" /> In 1999, a second book appeared, published in the United States, but it was written with only minimal cooperation from her and none from Fualaau:<ref>{{cite news |first= Austin |last= Bunn |title= Prisoner of Love |work= ] |date= January 27, 2000 |url= https://www.salon.com/2000/01/27/letourneau/ |access-date= July 24, 2015}}</ref> ''If Loving You Is Wrong''.<ref>{{cite book |first= Gregg |last= Olsen |title= If Loving You Is Wrong |location= New York |publisher= St. Martin's Press |date= 1999 |isbn= 0312970129 |url=https://archive.org/details/iflovingyouiswro00olse|url-access= registration }}{{page needed|date= January 2016}}</ref> During her imprisonment, Letourneau was allowed visits from her children. When her father died in 2001 and Letourneau requested a furlough to attend his funeral at ], her request was rejected.<ref name="Spi-MK-Dad">{{cite news|title=Mary K. Letourneau's Father Dies: She Won't Get to Attend Funeral |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/mkay11ww.shtml |department=Local |work=] |date=January 11, 2001 |access-date=May 12, 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> While in prison, Letourneau tutored fellow inmates, created audio books for blind readers, participated in the prison choir, and "rarely missed ]."<ref name="People"/> Because of her notoriety, Letourneau was unpopular with other inmates. She “sassed guards and balked at work,” and was reportedly punished with spending "18 of her first 24 months" in ].<ref name="People">{{cite news |url= http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20150636,00.html |first= Jerome |last= Richard |date= July 26, 2004 |title= Together Again? |work= ] |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090206032904/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20150636,00.html |archivedate= February 6, 2009 |access-date= June 1, 2009 |url-status= live }}</ref> In one instance, Letourneau served six months in solitary when letters she tried to send to Fualaau were intercepted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107031427/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/marykay_letourneau/8.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 7, 2014|title=Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance That was a Crime}}</ref>
Following Letourneau's release, Fualaau, then age 21, persuaded the court to reverse the no-contact order against her.<ref name= "Spi-SO" /><ref name= "SPI-L+F">{{cite news |title= Letourneau Now Allowed to See Former Student |url =http://www.seattlepi.com/local/185267_mary07.html |department= Local |work= Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date= August 7, 2004 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref> Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20, 2005, in the city of ], in a ceremony at the ].<ref name= "SPI-Wedding" /> Exclusive access to the wedding was given to the television show '']'',<ref name= "SPI-Wedding" /> and photographs were released through other media outlets. Letourneau said she planned to have another child and return to the teaching profession and indicated that by law she was permitted to teach at private schools and community colleges.<ref name= "Dateline">{{cite web |title= Letourneau and Fualaau, One Year Later |url= http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13064459 |work= ] |publisher= NBC |date= June 2, 2006 |access-date= January 21, 2010}}</ref>


Fualaau dropped out of high school, and his mother was granted custody of his two children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/08/mary-kay-letourneau-teacher-who-raped-student-vili-fualaau-dies/5396436002/|title=Who was Mary Kay Letourneau, the former teacher who raped her sixth-grade student and then married him?|first=Ryan W.|last=Miller|website=]|date=July 8, 2020}}</ref> He struggled with suicidal depression and ], attempting suicide in March 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wtkr.com/2015/04/09/mary-kay-letourneau-and-husband-vili-talk-to-barbara-walters|title=Mary Kay Letourneau and her husband mark 10 years of marriage|date=April 9, 2015|website=WTKR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126200&page=1|title=Teen Tells of Affair With Teacher|website=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20010408&slug=brodeur08m1 |title=Vili Fualaau's story is a sad one |work=]}}</ref> In 2002, Fualaau's family sued the Highline School District and the city of ], for emotional suffering, lost wages, and the costs of rearing his two children, claiming the school and the Des Moines Police Department had failed to protect him from Letourneau.<ref name="Spi032202">{{cite news |first= Tracy |last= Johnson |title= Fualaau's Suit Says He Wasn't Protected from Letourneau |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Fualaau-s-suit-says-he-wasn-t-protected-from-1083448.php|department= Local |work=] |date= March 22, 2002 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref> Following a ten-week trial, no damages were awarded. Attorney ] represented the Des Moines Police Department, while the Highline School District was represented by Michael Patterson.<ref name="Spi052102">{{cite news |first= Sam |last= Skolnik |title= Schools, Police Absolved in Fualaau Case |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Schools-police-absolved-in-Fualaau-case-1087664.php |department= Local |work=] |date= May 21, 2002 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref>
Attorney Anne Bremner, who met and befriended<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Kay Letourneau released from prison|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-03-teacher-released_x.htm}}</ref> Letourneau in 2002 during Fualaau's civil suit, said that Letourneau considered her relationship with Fualaau to be "eternal and endless". According to Bremner, "Nothing could have kept the two of them apart."<ref name= "Spi-SO"/> In a 2006 interview with ], " concede she knew it would be wrong to let the relationship go any further, but she says as soon as the school year ended, she and Vili did cross that line."<ref name="crime">{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13106958/ns/dateline_nbc/t/love-no-other/#.XvcJKShKhYY|title=A love like no other}}</ref> She said that "it did not cross her mind" at the time that having sex with Fualaau would be a crime.<ref name="crime"/> In a later interview, she stated, "If someone had told me, if anyone had told me, there is a specific law that says this is a crime I did not know. I've said this over and over again. Had I'd known, if anyone knows my personality. Just the idea, this would count as a crime."<ref name="Helling">{{cite news|last=Helling|first=Steve|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Says She 'Did Not Know' Having Sex with Her 12-Year-Old Student Was a Crime|work=]|date=September 25, 2018|accessdate=June 28, 2020|url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-did-not-know-having-sex-student-was-crime/}}</ref> The television series ''] Presents American Scandals'' covered the case in December 2015. Walters interviewed the couple about their relationship and their two daughters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Kay Letourneau: Forbidden Love {{!}} Barbara Walters Presents {{!}} Investigation Discovery GO|url=http://www.investigationdiscoverygo.com/barbara-walters-presents/mary-kay-letourneau-forbidden-love/|website=Investigation Discovery GO|accessdate=April 5, 2017|language=en-us|date=December 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals - Season 1 Episode 8: Mary Kay Letourneau: Forbidden Love|url=http://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/Barbara-Walters-Presents-American-Scandals/Season-1/episode-8|website=TVBuzer|accessdate=April 5, 2017}}</ref>


== Release from prison and marriage to Fualaau ==
On May 9, 2017, after almost 12 years of marriage, Fualaau filed for separation from Letourneau<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/30/us/husband-files-for-separation-from-former-teacher-mary-kay-fualaau/index.html|title=Husband files for separation from former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau|work=CNN|author=Kristina Sgueglia|date=May 31, 2017|accessdate=June 4, 2017}}</ref> but later withdrew the filing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/mary-kay-letourneau-apos-husband-142601731.html|title=Mary Kay Letourneau's Husband, Vili Fualaau, Arrested for DUI: Report|author=|date=March 30, 2018|website=yahoo.com}}</ref>
Letourneau was released from prison to a community placement program on August 4, 2004, and she registered the following day with the King County Sheriff's Office as a lifetime ].<ref name="Spi-SO">{{cite news |first1= Sam |last1= Skolnik |first2= Vanessa |last2= Ho |title= Letourneau Registers as Sex Offender |url= http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Letourneau-registers-as-sex-offender-1150919.php |department= Local |work=] |access-date=May 11, 2009}}</ref>


Following Letourneau's release, Fualaau, then aged 21, persuaded the court to reverse the no-contact order against her.<ref name="Spi-SO" /><ref name="SPI-L+F">{{cite news |title= Letourneau Now Allowed to See Former Student |url =http://www.seattlepi.com/local/185267_mary07.html |department= Local |work= ]|date= August 7, 2004 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref> Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20, 2005, in the city of ], in a ceremony at the ].<ref name="SPI-Wedding" /> Exclusive access to the wedding was given to the television show '']'',<ref name="SPI-Wedding" /> and photographs were released through other media outlets. Letourneau said she planned to have another child and return to the teaching profession. She indicated that by law, she was permitted to teach at private schools and community colleges.<ref name="Dateline">{{cite web |title= Letourneau and Fualaau, One Year Later |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13064459 |work= ] |publisher= ]|location=Los Angeles, California|date= June 2, 2006 |access-date= January 21, 2010}}</ref>
As of April 2018, Fualaau was working at a home improvement store and as a professional DJ and Letourneau was working as a legal assistant. An article in '']'' quoted an insider source who said, "They know what everyone thinks about their relationship And they don't care. They really never have. The wrong stuff that happened was so long ago. They are two grown adults who are living their lives now."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau-relationship-today-source/|title=Mary Kay Letourneau 'Will Go to the Ends of the Earth' to Help Her Student-Turned-Husband: Source|website=PEOPLE.com}}</ref>


Attorney Anne Bremner, who met and befriended<ref name="usatoday2004">{{cite news |title=Mary Kay Letourneau released from prison |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-03-teacher-released_x.htm |newspaper=]|access-date=July 9, 2020 |date=August 3, 2004}}</ref> Letourneau in 2002, during Fualaau's civil suit, said that Letourneau considered her relationship with Fualaau to be "eternal and endless.” According to Bremner, "nothing could have kept the two of them apart."<ref name="Spi-SO" /> In a 2006 interview with ], Letourneau "conceded she knew it would be wrong to let the relationship go any further, but she said as soon as the school year ended, she and Vili did cross that line."<ref name="crime" /> She said that "it did not cross her mind,” at the time, that having sex with Fualaau would be a crime.<ref name="crime" /> In a later interview, she stated, "If someone had told me, if anyone had told me, there is a specific law that says this is a crime, I did not know. I've said this, over and over again. Had I'd known, if anyone knows my personality. Just the idea, this would count as a crime."<ref name="Helling">{{cite news|last=Helling|first=Steve|title=Mary Kay Letourneau Says She 'Did Not Know' Having Sex with Her 12-Year-Old Student Was a Crime|work=]|location=New York City|date=September 25, 2018|access-date=June 28, 2020|url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-did-not-know-having-sex-student-was-crime/}}</ref> The television series ''] Presents American Scandals'' covered the case in December 2015 with an interview to discuss the couple's relationship and their two daughters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mary Kay Letourneau: Forbidden Love {{!}} Barbara Walters Presents {{!}} Investigation Discovery GO|url=http://www.investigationdiscoverygo.com/barbara-walters-presents/mary-kay-letourneau-forbidden-love/|website=]|access-date=April 5, 2017|language=en-us|date=December 21, 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211121020/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7_cwu2raok|archivedate=December 11, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals – Season 1 Episode 8: Mary Kay Letourneau: Forbidden Love|url=http://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/Barbara-Walters-Presents-American-Scandals/Season-1/episode-8|website=TVBuzer|access-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>
The couple divorced in August 2019.<ref>https://people.com/crime/inside-mary-kay-letourneau-and-vili-fualaaus-split/amp/</ref><ref>https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau-legally-split-by-august-1/amp/</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://komonews.com/news/local/report-this-time-its-really-over-between-mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau|title=Report: This time it's really over between Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau|first=KOMO|last=Staff|date=March 4, 2019|website=KOMO}}</ref><ref name="Yahoo Entertainment"/> During the marriage, Vili Fualaau said he was not a victim, and was unashamed of the relationship,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-next-for-letourneau/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104200844/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/30/earlyshow/living/main633157.shtml|url-status=dead|title=What's Next For LeTourneau?|archivedate=November 4, 2013|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref> but came to see it as unhealthy after divorcing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/crime/vili-fualaau-split-mary-kay-letourneau-he-sees-things-clearly/|title=Vili Fualaau 'Sees Things Clearly' After Split from Mary Kay Letourneau: Source}}</ref>


On May 9, 2017, after almost 12 years of marriage, Fualaau filed for separation from Letourneau, but he later withdrew the filing.<ref>{{cite news|first=Kristina |last=Sgueglia|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/30/us/husband-files-for-separation-from-former-teacher-mary-kay-fualaau/index.html|title=Husband files for separation from former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau|work=]|publisher=]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=June 4, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/mary-kay-letourneau-apos-husband-142601731.html|title=Mary Kay Letourneau's Husband, Vili Fualaau, Arrested for DUI: Report|date=March 30, 2018|website=]}}</ref>
==Death==
Letourneau died from ] on July 7, 2020 at age 58.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.khou.com/article/news/mary-kay-letourneau-dies-at-58/281-3d2eddeb-20b4-4955-8ba5-d351ac4800b7|title = Mary Kay Letourneau dies at 58|work = ]|date = July 7, 2020|accessdate = July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref></ref>


As of April 2018, Fualaau was working at a home improvement store and as a professional DJ, while Letourneau was working as a legal assistant. An article in '']'' quoted an inside source who said, "They know what everyone thinks about their relationship, and they don't care. They really never have. The wrong stuff that happened was so long ago. They are two grown adults who are living their lives now."<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Helling|url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau-relationship-today-source/|title=Mary Kay Letourneau 'Will Go to the Ends of the Earth' to Help Her Student-Turned-Husband: Source|website=]|date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>
==In popular culture==


The couple finalized a legal separation in August 2019.<ref name="Yahoo Entertainment" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Helling |first1=Steve |title=Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau Will Legally Separate by August 1: 'This Is the End' |url=https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau-legally-split-by-august-1/ |website=People |access-date=July 9, 2020 |language=EN |date=May 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://komonews.com/news/local/report-this-time-its-really-over-between-mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau|title=Report: This time it's really over between Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau|date=March 4, 2019|website=KOMO}}</ref> Earlier in the marriage, Fualaau said he was not a victim, and he was unashamed of the relationship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whats-next-for-letourneau/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104200844/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/30/earlyshow/living/main633157.shtml|url-status=dead|title=What's Next For LeTourneau?|archive-date=November 4, 2013|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref> According to ''People'' in May 2020, an unnamed source "close to Fualaau" said that “he sees things clearly now, and he realizes that this wasn't a healthy relationship, from the start."<ref>{{cite web |title=Vili Fualaau Saw 'Things Clearly' After Split from Mary Kay Letourneau: Source |url=https://people.com/crime/vili-fualaau-split-mary-kay-letourneau-he-sees-things-clearly/ |website=] |access-date=July 9, 2020 |language=EN |date=May 8, 2020}}</ref>
* On March 30, 1998, Letourneau appeared holding her child on the cover of '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-out-of-control-vol-49-no-12/amp/|title=Out of Control|website=People}}</ref>
*In 2001, the ] &ndash; now ] &ndash; television series ''Mugshots'' released an episode about Letourneau's case titled "Mary K. Letourneau and Vili Fualaau".<ref>{{cite web|title=Mugshots - Mary K. Letourneau and Vili Fualaau|url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x279rf2|website=Dailymotion|accessdate=October 24, 2017|date=October 5, 2014}}</ref>
*On October 2, 2010, ] and ] portrayed Vili Fualaau and Mary Kay Letourneau in a "]" sketch on '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/abby-elliott-14681/impersonation/mary-kay-letourneau-74966|title=Watch Mary Kay Letourneau Sketches From SNL Played By Abby Elliott - NBC.com|website=NBC}}</ref>


== See also == == Death ==
Letourneau died July 6, 2020, at her home in ], from ]. She was 58. Fualaau and her family were at her side, despite their separation. A joint statement was made by the Fualaau and Letourneau families to commemorate her passing. <ref>https://twitter.com/DBacherwrites/status/1280696272832196608 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> In her ], Letourneau left much of her ] to Fualaau.<ref>{{cite news|url =https://www.insideedition.com/vili-fualaau-speaks-on-marriage-to-mary-kay-letourneau-says-he-would-seek-help-if-he-was-attracted|title = Vili Fualaau Speaks on Marriage to Mary Kay Letourneau, Says He Would Seek Help if He Was Attracted to a Child
|work = ]|date = September 16, 2020|access-date = September 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Steve|last=Helling|url=https://people.com/crime/vili-fualaau-says-he-would-get-help-attracted-underage/|title = Vili Fualaau Says He'd 'Probably Go and Seek Some Help' If He Were Attracted to Someone Underage|work = ]|date = September 16, 2020|access-date = September 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.khou.com/article/news/mary-kay-letourneau-dies-at-58/281-3d2eddeb-20b4-4955-8ba5-d351ac4800b7|title = Mary Kay Letourneau dies at 58|work = ]|date = July 7, 2020|access-date = July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bicks |first=Emily |url=https://heavy.com/news/2020/07/mary-kay-letourneau-death/ |title=Mary Kay Letourneau Dies of Cancer at 58 |publisher=Heavy.com |date=April 10, 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Mary Kay Letourneau, Teacher Who Raped Student and Then Married Him, Dies at 58|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/obituaries/mary-kay-letourneau-dead.html|first=Daniel|last=Victor|date=July 7, 2020|access-date=July 7, 2020|newspaper=]}}</ref>


== In popular culture ==
{{Portal|Biography|Law}}
In 2000, a TV movie was broadcast on the ] about Letourneau's illegal relationship '']''.


The 2023 film '']'' is loosely inspired by her story.<ref >{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2023-05-21 |title=Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman Are Both Lead-Actress Oscar Worthy in Todd Haynes' Delicious ''May December'' |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/awards/may-december-oscars-natalie-portman-julianne-moore-best-actress-1235620533/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=]}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ] * ]
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==References== == References ==
{{Reflist}}
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}


'''Further reading''' == Further reading ==
{{refbegin}} {{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last= Dress |first= C. |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-1412037730 |title= Mass With Mary: The Prison Years |location= Trafford, BC |publisher= Trafford Publishing }} * {{Cite book |last= Dress |first= C. |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-1412037730 |title= Mass With Mary: The Prison Years |location= Trafford, BC |publisher= Trafford Publishing }}
* {{Cite book |last= Letourneau |first= Mary Kay |first2= Vili |last2= Fualaau |year= 1999 |title= Un seul crime, l'amour |trans-title= Only one crime, love |language= fr |location= Paris |publisher= Robert Laffont |isbn= 2-221-08812-3 }} * {{Cite book |last1= Letourneau |first1= Mary Kay |first2= Vili |last2= Fualaau |year= 1999 |title= Un seul crime, l'amour |trans-title= Only one crime, love |language= fr |location= Paris |publisher= Robert Laffont |isbn= 2-221-08812-3 }}
* {{Cite news |last= McElroy |first= W. |year= 2004 |title= No panic over school child abuse |work= Commentary |publisher= The Independent Institute |url= http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1331}} (Request reprint). * {{Cite news |last= McElroy |first= W. |year= 2004 |title= No panic over school child abuse |work= Commentary |publisher= The Independent Institute |url= http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1331}} (Request reprint).
* {{Cite book |last= Olsen |first= Gregg |year= 1999 |title= If Loving You is Wrong |location= New York |publisher= St. Martins: True Crime |isbn= 978-1481049016 }} * {{Cite book |last= Olsen |first= Gregg |year= 1999 |title= If Loving You is Wrong |location= New York |publisher= St. Martins: True Crime |isbn= 978-1481049016 }}
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==External links== == External links ==
*{{IMDb name|1380717}} * {{IMDb name|1380717}}
* at the ] * {{IMDb title|tt0232062|Mary Kay Letourneau: All American Girl}}
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Latest revision as of 04:56, 31 December 2024

American sex offender (1962–2020)

Mary Kay Letourneau
Letourneau smilingLetourneau in an undated photograph during her teaching career
BornMary Katherine Schmitz
(1962-01-30)January 30, 1962
Tustin, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 6, 2020(2020-07-06) (aged 58)
Des Moines, Washington, U.S.
Other namesMary Kay Fualaau
Alma materSeattle University
Occupation(s)Teacher, paralegal
Spouses
  • Steve Letourneau ​ ​(m. 1984; div. 1999)
  • Vili Fualaau ​ ​(m. 2005; sep. 2019)
Children6
Parents
Relatives
Conviction(s)Second-degree rape of a child (2 counts)
Criminal penalty7+1⁄2 years in prison

Mary Katherine Fualaau (previously Letourneau, née Schmitz; January 30, 1962 – July 6, 2020) was an American teacher who pleaded guilty in 1997 to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child and subsequently married her former student. The case received national attention.

Mary Schmitz met Steve Letourneau while attending Arizona State University; they married out of social pressure and had four children together over the years. Their marriage was unhappy. After achieving a teaching degree in 1989, Mary Letourneau started working at an elementary school in Burien, Washington. In September 1991, she first met Vili Fualaau, a second-grade pupil. Letourneau admired Fualaau's artistic abilities and kept in touch while not being his teacher. Letourneau and Fualaau met again in the fall of 1995, in sixth grade class. In June 1996, Letourneau, aged 34, engaged in statutory rape with Fualaau, aged 12. In September, she found out she was pregnant with Fualaau's child.

Mary Letourneau was arrested in March 1997, after a relative of her husband contacted the police. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's daughter. With the state seeking a seven and a half year prison sentence, she reached a plea bargain calling for six months in jail with three months suspended and no contact with Fualaau for life, among other terms. Shortly after Letourneau had completed three months in jail, the police caught her in a car with Fualaau. A judge revoked her plea agreement and reinstated the prison sentence for the maximum allowed by law of seven and a half years. Eight months after returning to prison, she gave birth to Fualaau's second child, another daughter.

Letourneau was imprisoned from 1998 to 2004, spending half a year in solitary confinement for her communication attempts with Fualaau. After her release, she and Fualaau successfully petitioned to the court to have their no-contact order lifted. Mary Letourneau and Vili Fualaau were married in May 2005. The marriage lasted 14 years, until their separation in 2019. Letourneau died in 2020, aged 58, from colon cancer, leaving much of her estate to Fualaau.

Early life

Mary Katherine Schmitz was born in 1962 in Tustin, California, to Mary E. (née Suehr), a former chemist, and John G. Schmitz (1930–2001), a community college instructor and politician. She was known as Mary Kay to her family. Letourneau was the third of seven children and the first daughter, raised in a "strict Catholic household." Her father was a member of the right-wing John Birch Society.

When Mary Kay was two years old, her father began a political career, successfully running as a Republican for a seat in the state legislature. He held positions as a California state senator and U.S. Congressman, winning a special election for an unexpired term in 1970, and the general election later that year. After a primary defeat in 1972, he changed parties and ran for president as an American Independent Party candidate in the 1972 U.S. presidential election. In 1973, Philip Schmitz, one of Mary's Kay's brothers, drowned in the family pool at their home in the Spyglass Hill section of Corona del Mar, California, at the age of three while she was playing with another brother in the shallow end. While no one was held responsible for the toddler's death, Mary Kay later claimed that the incident caused a rift between her and her mother as she said her parents tasked her with minding her brothers and her mother had become "cold" with her afterwards.

Letourneau attended Cornelia Connelly High School, an all-girls' Catholic school in Anaheim, California, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad for Servite High School. She later attended Arizona State University.

In 1978, her father was re-elected as a Republican to the California State Senate. He intended to run for the U.S. Senate in 1982, but his political career was permanently damaged that year when it was revealed that he had fathered two children out of wedlock during an extramarital affair with a former student at Santa Ana College, where he had taught political science. Her father's affair caused Letourneau's parents to separate, but they later reconciled.

First marriage

While attending Arizona State University, Mary Schmitz met fellow student Steve Letourneau. She later found out she was pregnant by him, which had led to complications one day in class when she had to be rushed to the emergency room. Doctors found that she had been carrying twins, but one embryo was lost to miscarriage. Mary Kay gave birth to the surviving twin, the first of the couple's four children. She later said that she was not in love with Steve, but she married him after being urged to do so by her parents. Steve also lacked romantic feelings but was also pressured by his parents and willing to marry. Both Steve and Mary Kay dropped out of ASU. The couple moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where Steve found work as a baggage handler for Alaska Airlines. After a year in Alaska, Steve was transferred to Seattle, Washington, where Mary subsequently gave birth to their second child. Determined to get a career in education, Mary Kay enrolled in Seattle University and was awarded a teaching degree in 1989. She began teaching second grade at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of Burien.

The Letourneaus' marriage suffered. They had financial problems, and each party engaged in multiple extramarital affairs. Her attorney and former neighbor, David Gehrke, said that she was "emotionally and physically abused by her husband" during their marriage, and twice "went to the hospital for treatment, and the police were called,” although no charges were filed. In May 1999, they divorced while Mary was imprisoned, and Steve gained custody of their four children. In 2010, the Letourneaus became grandparents when their oldest son had a daughter.

Crime, arrest, and sentencing

In September 1991, Letourneau first met Vili Fualaau (/ˈvɪli fʊˈlaʊ/; born June 26, 1983), a child of Samoan descent, when he was her second-grade student at Shorewood Elementary School. She was reported to be a highly praised teacher by the students' parents. Letourneau described her view of Fualaau at that time as "the kind of feeling you have with a brother or sister". In subsequent years, while not being his teacher, she reportedly continued to cultivate Fualaau's artistic abilities. In the fall of 1995, Letourneau was once again Fualaau's teacher, this time for sixth grade. In January 1996, Letourneau, aged 34, suffered a miscarriage in her marriage. During the summer, Fualaau spent time in Letourneau's house to do schoolwork. People magazine reported Fualaau, aged 12, bet with a friend he would have sex with Letourneau and that she began fantasizing about him.

On June 18, 1996, police found Letourneau with Fualaau in a car parked at a marina. She was seen jumping into the front seat while Fualaau pretended to sleep in the back. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification, and Fualaau lied about his age, saying that he was 18. Fualaau said that no touching had taken place. Letourneau said she and her husband had gotten into an argument, and Fualaau, who she said was a family friend who had been staying with them that night, witnessed the argument and ran away, upset. She said she left to find him. Fualaau failed to furnish a driver's license or any government-issued ID card, but the patrolman deduced he was not an adult as claimed. Letourneau and Fualaau were taken to the police station, where Fualaau's mother was called. Mrs. Fualaau said that Mrs. Letourneau was a well-known teacher of Vili's and had no issue with the two of them being in public. As such, the police dropped the matter. She later said that if the police had alerted her to the fact that Letourneau had lied about Fualaau's age and what had occurred in the car, she would not have allowed her son to go back to Letourneau.

In September 1996, Letourneau was pregnant with Fualaau's child. On February 1997, Steve Letourneau found love letters written from his wife to Fualaau. Mary Letourneau was arrested on March 4, 1997, after a relative of her husband contacted the police. Letourneau pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. Her first child with Fualaau, a daughter, was born on May 29, 1997, while she was awaiting sentencing. The state sought to sentence her to six and a half years in prison. Through a plea agreement, her sentence was reduced to six months (three of which were suspended) in the county jail and three years of sex offender treatment. She was not required initially to register as a sex offender. As part of her plea agreement, Letourneau could not contact Fualaau or her five children or have contact with any other minors. She became the subject of an international tabloid scandal and experienced symptoms of degraded mental health.

On February 3, 1998, four weeks after completing her jail sentence, Letourneau was found by police in a car with Fualaau near her home. Letourneau initially said she was alone in the car. She and Fualaau provided false names when asked for identification. Although it was reported that sexual intercourse had occurred in the car, Fualaau told a detective that he and Letourneau had kissed, frequently, and he also reported that he had touched Letourneau on the thigh but that no sexual intercourse had occurred. There was evidence the two had met, several times, since Letourneau's release from jail on January 2. When she was arrested, police found $6,200 in cash (equivalent to $12,000 in 2023), baby clothes, and her passport inside the car. Receipts for $850 in purchases (equivalent to $1,600 in 2023) made since January 20 for men's, young men's, and infant clothing were also found. Letourneau said that the money was for dermatology treatments and for her divorce lawyer and that some of the men's clothing were gifts for relatives and for herself, since she enjoyed wearing oversized men's clothing.

In February 1998, the judge revoked Letourneau's prior plea agreement and reinstated the prison sentence of seven and a half years for violating the no-contact order. In interviews and in a book on her involvement with Fualaau, Letourneau said she had sex with him in January. Police said they had no evidence that sex occurred in the February car incident. Letourneau served her sentence in the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

While serving her second stint in jail, Letourneau gave birth to her second daughter by Fualaau on October 16, 1998. That year, Letourneau and Fualaau co-authored a book, which was published in France, called Only One Crime, Love (French: Un seul crime, l'amour). In 1999, a second book appeared, published in the United States, but it was written with only minimal cooperation from her and none from Fualaau: If Loving You Is Wrong. During her imprisonment, Letourneau was allowed visits from her children. When her father died in 2001 and Letourneau requested a furlough to attend his funeral at Fort Myer, Virginia, her request was rejected. While in prison, Letourneau tutored fellow inmates, created audio books for blind readers, participated in the prison choir, and "rarely missed Mass." Because of her notoriety, Letourneau was unpopular with other inmates. She “sassed guards and balked at work,” and was reportedly punished with spending "18 of her first 24 months" in solitary confinement. In one instance, Letourneau served six months in solitary when letters she tried to send to Fualaau were intercepted.

Fualaau dropped out of high school, and his mother was granted custody of his two children. He struggled with suicidal depression and alcoholism, attempting suicide in March 1999. In 2002, Fualaau's family sued the Highline School District and the city of Des Moines, Washington, for emotional suffering, lost wages, and the costs of rearing his two children, claiming the school and the Des Moines Police Department had failed to protect him from Letourneau. Following a ten-week trial, no damages were awarded. Attorney Anne Bremner represented the Des Moines Police Department, while the Highline School District was represented by Michael Patterson.

Release from prison and marriage to Fualaau

Letourneau was released from prison to a community placement program on August 4, 2004, and she registered the following day with the King County Sheriff's Office as a lifetime level 2 (medium risk) sex offender.

Following Letourneau's release, Fualaau, then aged 21, persuaded the court to reverse the no-contact order against her. Letourneau and Fualaau married on May 20, 2005, in the city of Woodinville, Washington, in a ceremony at the Columbia Winery. Exclusive access to the wedding was given to the television show Entertainment Tonight, and photographs were released through other media outlets. Letourneau said she planned to have another child and return to the teaching profession. She indicated that by law, she was permitted to teach at private schools and community colleges.

Attorney Anne Bremner, who met and befriended Letourneau in 2002, during Fualaau's civil suit, said that Letourneau considered her relationship with Fualaau to be "eternal and endless.” According to Bremner, "nothing could have kept the two of them apart." In a 2006 interview with NBC News, Letourneau "conceded she knew it would be wrong to let the relationship go any further, but she said as soon as the school year ended, she and Vili did cross that line." She said that "it did not cross her mind,” at the time, that having sex with Fualaau would be a crime. In a later interview, she stated, "If someone had told me, if anyone had told me, there is a specific law that says this is a crime, I did not know. I've said this, over and over again. Had I'd known, if anyone knows my personality. Just the idea, this would count as a crime." The television series Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals covered the case in December 2015 with an interview to discuss the couple's relationship and their two daughters.

On May 9, 2017, after almost 12 years of marriage, Fualaau filed for separation from Letourneau, but he later withdrew the filing.

As of April 2018, Fualaau was working at a home improvement store and as a professional DJ, while Letourneau was working as a legal assistant. An article in People quoted an inside source who said, "They know what everyone thinks about their relationship, and they don't care. They really never have. The wrong stuff that happened was so long ago. They are two grown adults who are living their lives now."

The couple finalized a legal separation in August 2019. Earlier in the marriage, Fualaau said he was not a victim, and he was unashamed of the relationship. According to People in May 2020, an unnamed source "close to Fualaau" said that “he sees things clearly now, and he realizes that this wasn't a healthy relationship, from the start."

Death

Letourneau died July 6, 2020, at her home in Des Moines, Washington, from colon cancer. She was 58. Fualaau and her family were at her side, despite their separation. A joint statement was made by the Fualaau and Letourneau families to commemorate her passing. In her will, Letourneau left much of her estate to Fualaau.

In popular culture

In 2000, a TV movie was broadcast on the USA Network about Letourneau's illegal relationship All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story.

The 2023 film May December is loosely inspired by her story.

See also

References

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Further reading

  • Dress, C. (2004). Mass With Mary: The Prison Years. Trafford, BC: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1412037730.
  • Letourneau, Mary Kay; Fualaau, Vili (1999). Un seul crime, l'amour [Only one crime, love] (in French). Paris: Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-08812-3.
  • McElroy, W. (2004). "No panic over school child abuse". Commentary. The Independent Institute. (Request reprint).
  • Olsen, Gregg (1999). If Loving You is Wrong. New York: St. Martins: True Crime. ISBN 978-1481049016.
  • Robinson, J. (2001). The Mary Kay Letourneau Affair. Overland Park, KS: Leathers Publishing. ISBN 978-1585970582.

External links

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