Editing Mary Kay Letourneau (section)

== Crime, arrest, and sentencing ==
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 [[Samoans|Samoan]] 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= [[Google Books]] |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 |last=Fitten |first=Ronald K.|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. [[People (magazine)|''People'']] magazine reported Fualaau, aged 12, bet with a friend he would have sex with Letourneau and that she began fantasizing about him.<ref name="WDBJ_4/4/2002">{{cite web | title=WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 04/04/02 | website=[[WDBJ]] | 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><ref name="People_7/8/2020">{{cite web |title=Mary Kay Letourneau and Her Student: Inside the Relationship That Shocked a Nation | website=[[People (magazine)|People]] | 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><!--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=[[CNN]]|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 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= [[The Early Show]] |publisher= [[CBS]] |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|last=McAfee|first=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=[[People (magazine)|People]] |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 = [[Associated Press]] | work = [[Kitsap Sun]] | 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= [[Journal of Law and Education]] |volume= 35 |issue= 3 |pages= 355+ |via= HeinOnline |access-date= October 3, 2010}}</ref> She was not required initially to register as a [[sex offender]].<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|last=Mankiewicz|first=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=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=[[Kitsap Sun]]|date=February 13, 1998|agency=[[Associated Press]]|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=[[Kitsap Sun]]|date=February 11, 1998|agency=[[Associated Press]]|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>

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=[[The Washington Post]] |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=[[People (magazine)|People]]|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=[[Chicago Tribune]]|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 infants' 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 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 name="Spin"/><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 = [[Associated Press]] | via = [[Kitsap Sun]] | 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> 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=[[Kitsap Sun]]|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 [[Washington Corrections Center for Women]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.doc.wa.gov/information/inmate-search/default.aspx|title=Inmate Search &#124; Washington State Department of Corrections|website=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=[[NBC News]] |date=August 4, 2004 |access-date=July 8, 2020}}</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= [[Salon (website)|Salon]] |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 [[Fort Myer, Virginia]], 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=[[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 (liturgy)|Mass]]."<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 [[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= [[People (magazine)|People]] |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> 

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=[[USA Today]]|date=July 8, 2020}}</ref> He struggled with suicidal depression and [[alcoholism]], 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 web |last=Brodeur |first=Nicole |date=April 8, 2001 |title=Vili Fualaau's story is a sad one |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20010408/brodeur08m1/vili-fualaaus-story-is-a-sad-one |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=archive.seattletimes.com}}</ref> 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.<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 [[Anne Bremner]] 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=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date= May 21, 2002 |access-date= May 11, 2009}}</ref>