Mary Kay Letourneau, Teacher Convicted Of Raping Underaged Student, Wants Sex Offender Status Removed

Mary Kay Letourneau is once again making headlines. In 1996, she had an affair with a 13-year-old sixth-grade student in her Seattle class named Vili Fualaau. She was 34-years-old and married with four children of her own, according to ABC News. The sex scandal became known around the globe.

Vili was a minor, and Mary Kay was a sex offender. Their relationship became sexual by the summer of 1996. By the end of that summer, she was pregnant with their first child. At the beginning of 1997, her husband discovered a love letter Mary had written. The authorities were alerted, and Mary Kay was arrested.

She gave birth to Audrey, their first child, on May 29, 1997. After pleading guilty three months later to two counts of second-degree child rape, she was sentenced to 89 months in prison on November 14, 1997. She was paroled after serving six months of her sentence. However, the court placed a condition: She was to have no contact with Vili and to attend counseling sessions for sex offenders.

Mary Kay ignored the court order and had contact with Vili. Her sentence was reinstated, and she was sent back to prison. Mary Kay became pregnant with their second child while on parole and gave birth to their second daughter, Georgia, on October 16, 1998 while in prison. Her husband filed for divorce and moved with their four children to Alaska.

Eventually, at Vili’s request, the court allowed them to see each other after he turned 18. In 2005, they married in front of 250 guests at a winery in Washington State. Their two daughters served as flower girls, according to Us Weekly.

But all is not roses. Vili has battled depression over the years and even indicated the following, according to ABC News.

“I’m surprised I’m still alive today. I went through a really dark time.”

Fast forward to today. He is 31, she 53. They have been married for 10 years. Although they acknowledge the ups and downs in their marriage, they have indicated that they have a pretty normal life. Vili works at a home garden center and is a DJ. She works as a legal assistant and has taught piano and math at the college level to students who are not minors. Being a registered sex offender, her teaching license was revoked and Mary Kay can no longer teach in the public school system. At one of his gigs, Vili hosted a “Hot Teacher” bash, with Letourneau signing autographs — despite the oddity and creepiness of such a venture in light of the fact that Letourneau is a sex offender. Ironically, Vili has stated the following.

“I don’t support younger kids being married or having a relationship with someone older. I don’t support it.”

Vili can be said to have been a victim in this situation, as he was barely a teenager when he entered into a sexual relationship with someone he should have been able to trust: his teacher. Despite the way that their relationship began, apparently Mary Kay no longer sees herself as a sex offender, as her relationship with Vili is now legitimized and seemingly stable with two daughters they love. But Letourneau has stated that she is attempting to get her name removed from the sex-offender registry. The kicker? She also wants to return to teaching, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Do you think that Mary Kay Letourneau should no longer be a registered sex offender? Has she served her time and paid her dues? Would removing her sex offender status open the floodgates to other sex offenders having their status removed? Should she be able to teach again? Please comment below.

In another case, a 32-year-old teacher who had sex with underage students avoided jail time because of a plea deal. A Louisiana high school teacher who was accused of having a threesome with a 16-year-old student accepted a plea deal that not only allows her to avoid jail time, but it will also keep her off the sex offender registry, according to an Inquisitr article.

[Photo Courtesy ABC Channel 7 Twitter]