Case File: Mary Kay Letourneau

Mary Kay Letourneau was born into a politically active family. Her father, John Schmitz, served as a conservative U.S. Congressman from California, who had made an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 1972 as a far-right candidate. Letourneau had a strict, religious upbringing, but the family’s world was rocked in the early 1980s after revelations of her father’s extramarital affair ended his political career. Letourneau married her college sweetheart, Steve Letourneau. The couple eventually settled in Washington State and had four children. The marriage was rocky, with reports of financial troubles and infidelity on both sides. 

Letourneau was a highly regarded teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in Des Moines, Wash., a Seattle suburb. She first met Vili Fualauu in 1991 while working as his second-grade teacher. Fualaau came from a working-class Samoan family; shy but artistically creative. Over the next several years, Letourneau took a special interest in him, often praising his talents and encouraging his creative expression. In 1995, Letorneau taught Fualaau once again for sixth grade. 

Their involvement intensified over the coming months, with Fualauu studying in Letourneau’s home and becoming close with her children. To outsiders, this might have appeared as extra care for a struggling student. However, the attention escalated beyond appropriate boundaries.

By the summer of 1996, the relationship turned sexual. Fualaau had just turned 13. Despite the clear power imbalance—she was a teacher, an adult and a figure of authority—the relationship continued largely in secret, and was concealed from school administrators, peers and even Letourneau’s husband. 

In early 1997, rumors of the inappropriate relationship began circulating. Letourneau’s husband discovered love letters and became suspicious, prompting a report to authorities. On March 4, 1997, Letourneau was arrested after police found her and Fualaau together in her car in a secluded marina parking lot at 1:30 a.m. The duo claimed they were just talking, but the discovery raised red flags.

Soon after, it was discovered that Letourneau was pregnant. DNA testing later confirmed Fualaau as the child’s father, and Letourneau was arrested and charged with statutory rape of a minor. Prosecutors argued that Letourneau had used her position of authority to groom and manipulate Fualaau, who was not old enough to legally consent, over several years. Evidence, including handwritten letters, witness testimonies and DNA from Letourneau and Fualauu’s child, made it clear that a sexual relationship had occurred.

While out on bail, Letournau gave birth to her first child with Fualaau. She repeatedly ignored court orders forbidding her to contact him, violating the terms of her release, and was re-arrested. In August 1997, she pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape. The highly controversial plea sentenced Letourneau to just three months in jail and mandatory psychological treatment. The deal was contingent on her ceasing all contact with Fualaau. 

But in early 1998, Letourneau and Fualauu were discovered together again in a parked car. Authorities found passports, clothing and more than $6,000 in cash, leading them to suspect that the two planned to flee the country. Letourneau’s plea deal was revoked and she was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, the maximum term. In October 1998, Letourneau gave birth to the pair’s second daughter while behind bars. Fualaau’s mother was granted legal custody of the children for the length of Letourneau’s prison term. 

The case sparked intense media attention, which followed the pair throughout Letourneau’s time in jail and beyond. Letourneau maintained that her relationship with her former student was consensual and loving; language critics said it distorted the reality of child sexual abuse. Despite his parents’ efforts, Fualauu expressed his desire to reunite with Letourneau, but many believed that his perceptions were shaped by long-term grooming and manipulation.

Letourneau was released from prison in August 2004. Months later, over the objection of his parents, the now 21-year-old Fualaau successfully petitioned the court to lift the “no-contact” order legally separating the pair. In May 2005, the couple married in a ceremony, critics noted, attended and extensively promoted by several members of the media who’d been covering the case for years. 

The couple remained in the Seattle region, raising their two daughters, occasionally granting interviews, but largely keeping out of the limelight. They legally separated in 2017, with Fualaau reportedly telling friends and family that he had struggled for years to fully process and understand the implications of what had happened to him. Despite their separation, the couple remained close and Fualauu was present in the days leading up to Letourneau’s death from cancer in July 2020. In September of that year, Fualauu spoke in a televised interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz in which he discussed the emotional fallout from the relationship.

The Letourneau case sparked national discussions around child sexual abuse, grooming and power dynamics in school. While the extensive media coverage often framed the relationship as “forbidden love,” not many outlets stated the facts of the case as it was; the statutory rape of a minor. The case also inspired schools around the country to improve teacher training and mandatory reporting of suspected abuse.

Many applauded Fualauu’s decision to speak out about his experiences after Letourneau’s death, which helped shed light on the long-term consequences of abuse. The case was referenced or covered in television shows, tabloids, books, documentaries and films. The 2023 film May December, directed by Todd Haynes, starred Julianne Moore and Charles Melton as a fictionalized version of Letourneau and Fualaau. While the movie was a critical hit and earned an Oscar nomination in 2024, Fualaau publicly expressed his disapproval of the film, stating that it could have been portrayed with more sensitivity and accuracy.