Mary Kay Letourneau released from prison

[Miss Mary]

Now here's a case we haven't discussed yet at S2K. This story has always saddened me. I first felt deeply for her 4 children, when their worlds were completely turned upside down. Then the young boy pulled into Mary Kay's web. Now that she's released I don't know what to think. Her two children with the boy, now 21, haven't had a good start in life either. 6 children affected by this woman's selfish desires? There, I guess I gave my opinion on the matter. I don't despise the woman but wish she had looked upon the boy as she should have - a student she was supposed to teach and nurture, not seduce. Shawn, I'm sure you'll have some thoughts on the matter. It was reported that Mary Kay had a chemical imbalance at one time, I thought, and was on medication. Once she went off, her inappropriate behavior started. I hope I'm remembering this info correctly. Thoughts on the case anyone?

_________________________________


http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/03/teach ... index.html

Letourneau released from prison

Notorious teacher seduced preteen student

Wednesday, August 4, 2004 Posted: 5:18 AM EDT (0918 GMT)
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- The teacher whose notorious seduction of a sixth-grader dominated headlines in the late 1990s has been released from prison.

Mary Kay Letourneau, 42, was freed early Wednesday from a women's state prison near Gig Harbor after serving a seven-year sentence for child rape.

Letourneau was keeping mum about whether she will reunite with Vili Fualaau, now 21, with whom she has two children.

"I'm not allowing myself to think about being with him," Letourneau told Seattle's KOMO-TV. "We had a beautiful relationship, and I value it for what it was."

Letourneau was a 34-year-old elementary school teacher in suburban Des Moines, Washington, and a married mother of four in 1996 when her friendship with the then-12-year-old Fualaau became sexual.

"We had sex in the gym, we had sex in the girl's bathroom and we had sex in her classroom," Fualaau testified in a 2002 civil trial.

When Letourneau was arrested in 1997, she was already pregnant with Fualaau's daughter. A judge sentenced her to six months for second-degree child rape, and ordered her to stay away from Fualaau.

A month after her release, however, Letourneau was caught having sex with Fualaau in her car. She was sent to prison for 71/2 years, and gave birth to Fualaau's second daughter behind bars.

"Nothing could have kept the two of them apart," Seattle attorney Anne Bremner told The Associated Press. Bremner struck up a friendship with Letourneau in 2002, while defending police against a civil lawsuit filed by Fualaau and his mother, alleging the police and school district failed to protect him. A jury rejected their claims.

Letourneau, who sang in the choir and recorded books-on-tape for the blind while in prison, wants to try to build a normal life, Bremner said. "She wants to be a mother, she wants to be a responsible member of society," she said.

Attempts by the AP to contact attorneys for Letourneau and Fualaau were unsuccessful. Fualaau's number is unlisted.

As a condition of her release, Letourneau cannot contact Fualaau.

Fualaau told People magazine recently he would like to reunite with Letourneau but wants to take things slowly. He is unemployed and told the magazine he is working on his GED. His mother is raising their children.

Bremner said Letourneau still feels for Fualaau. "She's always said this love is eternal and endless, and I think she stands by that," Bremner said.

Letourneau's two daughters with Fualaau are now 6 and 7. They visited her in prison about twice a month. Her four older children live in Alaska with her ex-husband and visited a few times a year.

"There's enormous pain" with her four older children, Bremner said.

As a sex offender, Letourneau will have to register with the state and receive court-ordered treatment. Authorities will notify her new neighbors -- although the TV trucks will probably tip them off first. Seven years in prison has done little to dim Letourneau's notoriety.

"People are fascinated by scandal," Bremner said. "Love somehow made her do things that led to complete catastrophe. Then there's the side of watching a train wreck -- you can't look away even if you want to."

________________________

[GalvestonDuck]

*snicker* Me? Have thoughts on something? Surely, you jest.

Actually, I hadn't heard anything about her being on medication (not saying she wasn't, but I don't recall). Then again, I think I have this case mixed up with the Pamela Smart one (where the female school employee seduced a young male student and had him kill her husband). I saw the made-for-TV movie about it (the Smart case) and still can't get images of Helen Hunt kissing mulletted Chad Allen out of my head (that was a crime in itself).

She's obviously messed up in the head somehow. You rarely hear of female perpetrators of sex crimes. And some would try to say this wasn't a crime because they were "in love." Bullcrap! He was 12. He didn't know love from a Snickers bar. He was too young and immature and she should have known better IMO. Then again, she's probably immature also and could relate to him on a level that she couldn't relate to her husband. That's often the situation with child molestors anyway -- they can't have normal relationships with someone of their own age and, in their own minds, they rationalize the relationship with someone younger as being "right" because they feel it is right since they are able to make a tighter emotional bond with the person who is closer to their own emotional maturity.

Being with someone younger (but not underage) or older is not a crime. Sometimes, you can't deny who your soulmate is when you make that connection. But come on! She was married and should have NEVER had another sexual relationship with anyone while she was married (especially not a kid!). And if she felt such a strong connection to Vili (and if he felt one to her), they could have waited until he was older and until she was out of her current relationship (for those who feel divorce is justified -- which is a whole other debate in and of itself.) But as far as I'm concerned, she's a sex offender and should be treated as one.

[Josephine96]

I actually watched the movie of Mary K Latourneau yesterday,.. I don't know what to think..

[GalvestonDuck]

I gotta throw in this tidbit -- This morning, on the Today Show, right before a commercial break, Matt Lauer said something like "Coming up next, we'll talk with a friend of Mary Kaye Letourneau about her case." Of course, I wasn't actually *watching* TV, just listening since I was getting ready for work. Next thing I hear is an ad for Letourneau University here in TX. I just had to laugh at the timing.

[bfez1]

I will never understand in a million years how a 34 yr old WOMAN can fall in LOVE with a 12 yr old BOY!!!

[Miss Mary]

Shawn - bullcr@ap indeed. Can we say that word here? LOL I know we can't in the chat room....that dog will boot us out the door. I was discussing this case with my daughter Nina on her way to work. She just couldn't believe a grown woman would want to have sex with a 12 year old boy. Nina had heard about the case but now that she's 17, she think it's even creepier, her words. I said there are many victims here - her 4 children with her ex, her 2 with this boy and first and foremost, the BOY. There I said it - he was never, ever allowed to be just a boy. She robbed him of his innocence. Of falling for a girl his own age! The awkward first kiss, the I-don't-like-her phase but he does.....so sad really.

Bonnie - I'm with you, I don't see how a 34 year old woman can fall in love with a 12 year old BOY either!

Now she's what 42 and he's 21. She's probably about to turn 43. That's still a 22 year difference. Had she been 72 and he 50, sure go ahead have your affair. But not when you're 34 and he's 12!

I even wonder how long Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher can last. She looks great for her age, but on a maturity level, AK seems so much younger than she does. More years than their actual 15 year difference.

Mary

[Josephine96]

me neither

[Lindaloo]

I will never understand in a million years how a 34 yr old WOMAN can fall in LOVE with a 12 yr old BOY!!!

Me either!!

[Skywatch_NC]

Letourneau should have gotten MORE than 7 years! The SLUT!

Eric

[Pburgh]

Eric, I'm surprised at you!!!!!!!

Ducky, I loved this one "He didn't know love from a Snickers bar."

She definitely will have to register as a second degree sex offender for the remainder of her life.

I really feel sorry for all of the children.

[Skywatch_NC]

Eric, I'm surprised at you!!!!!!!

Ducky, I loved this one "He didn't know love from a Snickers bar."

She definitely will have to register as a second degree sex offender for the remainder of her life.

I really feel sorry for all of the children.

Karan,

Don't know what happened there, Wxbuddy...I clearly had the word slut there and someone must have messed w/ my post.

For whoever was offended by the word slut...it's not a swear word, folks.

Eric

[GalvestonDuck]

I will never understand in a million years how a 34 yr old WOMAN can fall in LOVE with a 12 yr old BOY!!!

Or how he could fall for her. Her hubby found love letters from Vili to her. That's so weird.

And again, I'll add -- she was MARRIED!!!

Didn't his mother at least teach him to respect the sanctity of marriage? Didn't her parents ever teach her to honor her vows?

[Pburgh]

Eric, I was just kiddin you my friend. It just didn't sound like something you'd say. Now ---- it sounded more like something I would say!!!! lol
In other words, I think you're a much nicer person than me!

((Hugs))

[Skywatch_NC]

Eric, I was just kiddin you my friend. It just didn't sound like something you'd say. Now ---- it sounded more like something I would say!!!! lol
In other words, I think you're a much nicer person than me!

((Hugs))

I understand, Karan. (((((HUGS)))))

It's just VERY sad to think about an adult who has seduced/and then raped a child to think that they've only had to serve 7 years in the correctional system...to me 7 yrs. seems like a slap on the hand.

[JQ Public]

She served her time. Yes there is a stigma. She's registered a sex offender etc. I guess she's got her punishment. Thats what the justice dept is all about. Wish her luck and hope she doesn't do it again!!

[kittcat]

If the situation had been reversed and it was a man who seduced and impregnated a 12 year old girl, he would still be in jail if he wasn't dead already.

[Miss Mary]

There's a 3 page article on CNN's website where she wants to try and explain herself and why she did what she did. The headline states she wants to resume the affair with this now young man.

So the saga continues I guess. She'll never convince me she made the right choices back then - never.

Mary

[stormie_skies]

Heres an interesting twist...as reported by MSNBC....

GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Mary Kay Letourneau, the grade school teacher convicted for having sex with a sixth-grade pupil, was released from prison early Wednesday, and her now 21-year-old former lover is challenging a court order that bars her from contacting him.

As a condition of her release, Letourneau, 42, can’t contact former pupil Vili Fualaau, the father of two of her children.

But Wednesday morning, Fualaau’s attorney, N. Scott Stewart, filed a motion to vacate the no-contact order. Fualaau “does not fear Mary K. Letourneau,” the motion argues, adding that the sole basis for criminal charges was Fualaau’s age.

“He is now an adult and, as an adult, is requesting that the court allow him to associated with other adults of his own choosing, specifically Mary K. Letourneau,” it says.

The prosecutor’s office is reviewing the motion, spokesman Dan Donohoe said, and had not yet decided whether to agree to it or request a hearing before a judge.

Fualaau told People magazine recently that he’d like to reunite with Letourneau, but wants to take things slowly. He is unemployed and told the magazine he is working on his GED. His mother is raising their children. Fualaau’s phone number is unlisted.

“I don’t know what my feelings are right now,” Fualaau told KING-TV on Tuesday, acknowledging he was “kind of nervous.”

“But I know that I do love her,” he said.

Whats the general opinion on this one? Is the no-contact order outdated, now that Villi is a legal adult? She is, after all, the mother of his children.....

If they believe they are in love, shouldn't they be allowed to see each other?

[rainstorm]

he is 21 now, if he wants her, its his business

[j]

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here and say...let them be together if that's what they want.

They are both adults now...obviously still hot for each other. To me it makes no sense to place legal restrictions on their contact. The boy is now a man, an obviously wants more of what he once had.

Sickos?...maybe, but unless there is reason to believe that this woman is a habitual sex offender, and will continue to prey on adolescent boy-men, they should be united as a family.

She paid her debt to society, and now the "victim" wants to be with her.

My only concern is the children in this case, however, if they are committed to each other, then the best placce for these children is with both parents.