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|relations = John P. Schmitz and [[Joseph E. Schmitz]] (brothers), four other siblings and two half-siblings
|relations = John P. Schmitz and [[Joseph E. Schmitz]] (brothers), four other siblings and two half-siblings
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'''Mary Kay Letourneau''' (born '''Mary Katherine Schmitz'''; January 30, 1962), is an American former schoolteacher convicted of the child rape of her 12 year old student, Vili Fualaau in 1997. Letourneau served two prison terms for her crime and gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated. After her release from prison in 2004, Letourneau married Fualaau and took his name (Mary Kay Fualaau). Letourneau is the daughter of congressman John G. Schmitz.<ref name = "SPI-0
'''Mary Kay Letourneau''' (born '''Mary Katherine Schmitz'''; January 30, 1962), is an American former schoolteacher convicted in 1997 of the statutory rape of her 12 year old student, Vili Fualaau, for which she served two prison terms. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated. After her release from prison in 2004, Letourneau married Fualaau and took his name (Mary Kay Fualaau). She is the daughter of congressman John G. Schmitz.<ref name = "SPI-0
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File:Mary Kay Letourneau.jpg|Mary Kay
File:Mary Kay Letourneau.jpg|Mary Kay

Revision as of 09:02, 4 August 2010

Mary Kay Letourneau
Born
Mary Katherine Schmitz

(1962-01-30) January 30, 1962 (age 62)
Orange County, California, U.S.
Other namesMary Kay Fualaau
Spouse(s)Steve Letourneau (1984-1999) (divorced)
Vili Fualaau (2005-present)
ChildrenSix (four by Letourneau; two by Fualaau)
Parent(s)John G. Schmitz and Mary E. Schmitz (née Suehr)
RelativesJohn P. Schmitz and Joseph E. Schmitz (brothers), four other siblings and two half-siblings

Mary Kay Letourneau (born Mary Katherine Schmitz; January 30, 1962), is an American former schoolteacher convicted in 1997 of the statutory rape of her 12 year old student, Vili Fualaau, for which she served two prison terms. She gave birth to two of Fualaau's children while incarcerated. After her release from prison in 2004, Letourneau married Fualaau and took his name (Mary Kay Fualaau). She is the daughter of congressman John G. Schmitz.[1][2]

Early life

Letourneau was born Mary Katherine Schmitz in Tustin, California to university professor, John G. Schmitz and chemist, Mary Schmitz.[3][4] She was known as Mary Kay to her family and was affectionately called "Cake" by her father. She was the fourth of seven children, raised in a "strict Catholic household."[5][6] Letourneau's brother John Patrick Schmitz is the former deputy counsel to President Bush.[7] Another elder brother, Jerry, is an engineer and was affiliated with the San Francisco Scientology mission. Letourneau's two younger sisters, Theresa and Elizabeth are married and reported to be living in the Washington, D.C., area.[8]

When Letourneau was two years old her father began his political career and ran for a seat in the state legislature.[6] Later, Schmitz held positions as a California state senator and U.S. Congressman and he ran for president as an American Independent Party candidate in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.[8][7]

In 1973 Letourneau's three year old brother drowned in the family pool at their home in the Spyglass Hill section of Corona del Mar, California while the baby was under the care of Letourneau and her older brother, Jerry.[8]

It was around this time that her father began having an extra-marital affair.[8] In 1982, Schmitz's political career was severely damaged when it was revealed that during his affair with a former student at Santa Ana College, where he had taught political science, he had fathered two children out of wedlock.[9]

Her father's affair caused her parents to separate, but they later reconciled. According to friends, Letourneau felt betrayed and thought her mother was a cold person who "drove him to it" by denying her father affection.[10][11] Schmitz refused to lend financial support or assistance to his illegitimate children who became wards of the state after their mother died.[12]

Letourneau attended Cornelia Connelly High School, an all-girls Catholic school in Anaheim, California, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad. During high school she is reported to have "liked parties and boys and traveling."[13] Letourneau was also a student at Arizona State University and was reported to be a "party-animal."[14]

First Marriage

While attending Arizona State University, Mary Kay met fellow student Steve Letourneau and later they married and had four children.

Their first child was conceived while the couple was at Arizona State University. During this pregnancy Letourneau had a miscarriage and urged doctors not to do a dilation and curettage, on the chance that she might be carrying twins, which doctors discovered she was. She remained pregnant with the remaining twin that survived the miscarriage.

The couple then dropped out of college[15] and moved to Steve's hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, where he took up work as a baggage handler for Alaska Airlines.[16] After a year in Alaska, his job was transferred to Seattle. Letourneau attended night classes at Seattle University and graduated in 1989. Later she began teaching second grade at Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle-suburb of Burien, Washington.

The couple is reported to have had financial and marital problems including extramarital affairs by both partners.[17] Letourneau's attorney, former neighbor and friend, David Gehrke, says that she "had been emotionally and physically abused by her husband and in two of the three cases, she went to the hospital for treatment, and police were called" even though criminal charges were never filed.[18]

In May 1999, while she was in prison, Letourneau divorced from her husband Steve Letourneau who received custody of their four children and relocated to Alaska.[19]

Trial and Conviction

In 1996 while Letourneau was a Des Moines, Washington elementary school teacher, her friendship with 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau "mutated into flirtation and then sex." Letourneau, pregnant with Fualaau's daughter, Audrey, was arrested on February 26, 1997.[20][21]

During the trial she was examined by several psychiatrists and diagnosed as manic depressive.[8] Letourneau pled guilty and was convicted of two counts of second degree child rape. On August 7, 1997, she received a sentence of 89 months imprisonment. The sentence specified county jail, and upon release, enrollment in a three-year sex offender treatment program and no-contact with Fualaau. The sentence was suspended in consideration of her six months in jail and she was released in January 1998.[20][22][21]

On February 3, 1998, Letourneau was found "having sex with Fualaau in her car" and was arrested for violating the conditions of her suspended sentence.[21] On that day Letourneau had $6200 in cash and her passport in her car.[9] Letourneau was sentenced to seven and one half years in prison.[23]

In March 1998, prison officials discovered that Letourneau was pregnant with Fualaau's second daughter, Georgia, who was born in a Tacoma, Washington hospital on October 16, 1998. After the birth Letourneau was returned to prison.[20] In January, 2001, Letourneau's father died, and she was denied a release from prison to attend his funeral.[24] While in prison Letourneau tutored fellow inmates, created audio books for the hearing impaired, participated in the prison choir and "rarely missed mass."[20] Because of her celebrity status Letourneau was unpopular with other inmates. Letourneau also "sassed guards and balked at work" and as a result spent "18 of her first 24 months in solitary" confinement.[20] Letourneau was released on a community placement program on August 4, 2004. The following day she registered with the Kings County Sheriff's Office as a Level 2 sex offender.[21]

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.[25] During the ten week trial, defense attorneys Anne Bremner, representing the Des Moines Police Department, and Michael Patterson, representing the Highline School District, prevailed and no damages were awarded.[26]

Relationship with Vili Fualaau

Letourneau first met Vili Fualaau when he was a student in her second grade class at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Washington.[27] She later taught a sixth grade class in which Fualaau was a student. Letourneau began a personal relationship with Fualaau during that time.[28] Thirty five year old Letourneau became pregnant after having intercourse with 13 year old Fualaau.[27] Letourneau was arrested, convicted and imprisoned on two counts of child rape.

After Letourneau's release from prison in 2004, Fualaau, at age 21, filed a motion in court, requesting a reversal of the no-contact order against Letourneau.[21] A few days later the request was granted.[29] Letourneau and Fualaau were married on May 20, 2005 in the Seattle suburb of Woodinville in a ceremony at the Columbia Winery.[2] Access to the wedding was strictly controlled by the television show Entertainment Tonight, which reportedly paid for exclusive access,[2] although photographs were released to other media outlets. Mary Kay Letourneau's married name is Mary Kay Fualaau. She has said that she would like to have another child and return to the teaching profession[30] and indicated that she is permitted by law to teach at private schools and community colleges.[30]

As a married couple, Letourneau and Fualaau have hosted three "Hot for Teacher Night" promotions at a Seattle night club with Fualaau serving as the disc jockey and Letourneau as host.[31][32][33][34]

During an Inside Edition interview Fualaau is reported to have said, "I'm not a victim. I'm not ashamed of being a father. I'm not ashamed of being in love with Mary Kay."[35] Attorney Anne Bremner, who met Letourneau in 2002 during Fualaau's civil suit, said that Letourneau considered her affair with Fualaau to be "eternal and endless." According to Bremmer, "Nothing could have kept the two of them apart."[21]

Cultural references

Letourneau was the subject of the 2007 musical: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: A Karaoke Musical which was produced and performed at the Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago, IL.[36]

See also

Suggested Reading

  • Letourneau, Mary Kay (1999). Un seul crime, l'amour (Only one crime, love). Paris, France: Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-08812-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • 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, NY: St. Martins: True Crime.
  • Robinson, J. (2001). The Mary Kay Letourneau Affair. Overland Park, KS: Leathers Publishing.
  • Dress, C. (2004). Mass With Mary: The Prison Years. Trafford, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing.

References

  1. ^ File:Mary Kay Letourneau.jpg|Mary Kay File:Example.jpg|Caption2 </gallery> 31899">Wilson, Kimberly A.C. (March 18, 1999). "Letourneau may be transferred to out-of-state prison". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Letourneau marries Fualaau amid media circus". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. May 21, 2005. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  3. ^ "California Births, 1905 - 1995". Family Tree Legends Records Collection (Online Database). Pearl Street Software. 2005. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  4. ^ Warrick, Pamela. "The Fall from Spyglass Hill." Los Angeles Times. 29-04-1998. Retrieved 22-10-2009. Page 4. [1]
  5. ^ "Mary Kay Letourneau's father dies". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. January 12, 2001. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "The Politician's Family." [2] Entire work available at truTV.com website, as part of its "Crime Library."
  7. ^ a b Washington Post, Conservative GOP Congressman
  8. ^ a b c d e Warrick, Pamela. "The Fall from Spyglass Hill." Los Angeles Times. 29-04-1998. Retrieved 22-10-2009. Page 3. [3]
  9. ^ a b Spin Magazine, June 1998, p 124
  10. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "Scandal of the Second Family." [4] Entire work available at truTV.com website, as part of its "Crime Library."
  11. ^ Warrick, Pamela. "The Fall from Spyglass Hill." Los Angeles Times. 29-04-1998. Retrieved 22-10-2009. Page 4. [5]
  12. ^ Warrick, Pamela. "The Fall from Spyglass Hill." Los Angeles Times. 29-04-1998. Retrieved 22-10-2009. Page 4. [6]
  13. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "The Politician's Family." [7]
  14. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "The Politician's Family." [8]
  15. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "Marrying Mr. Right Now." [9]
  16. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "Marrying Mr. Right Now." [10] Entire work available at truTV.com website, as part of its "Crime Library."
  17. ^ Noe, Denise. Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance that was a Crime. From chapter entitled "Marrying Mr. Right Now." [11] Entire work available at truTV.com website, as part of its "Crime Library."
  18. ^ Warrick, Pamela. "The Fall from Spyglass Hill." Los Angeles Times. 29-04-1998. Retrieved 22-10-2009. Page 3. [12]
  19. ^ Candy Hatcher, Letourneau can profit from story, appeals court rules [13]Seattle Post-IntelligencerApril 19, 2000
  20. ^ a b c d e Jerome Richard July 26, 2004, Together Again? People (magazine)
  21. ^ a b c d e f Skolnik, Sam (August 5, 2004). "Letourneau registers as sex offender". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 11, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ CBS News: What's next for LeTourneau?
  23. ^ Spin Magazine, June 1998, p 124
  24. ^ "Mary K. Letourneau's father dies; she won't get to attend funeral". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. January 11, 2001. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  25. ^ Johnson, Tracy (March 22, 2002). "Fualaau's suit says he wasn't protected from Letourneau". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  26. ^ Skolnik, Sam (May 21, 2002). "Schools, police absolved in Fualaau case". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  27. ^ a b Gartner, Richard B. (1999). "Encoding Sexual Abuse as Sexual Initiation". Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men (Google Book Search). New York: Guilford Press. p. 45. ISBN 9781572306448. OCLC 317520944. LCCN 98-0 – 0. Retrieved May 12, 2009. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Morales, Tatiana (August 3, 2004). "What's Next For LeTourneau?". The Early Show. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  29. ^ "Letourneau now allowed to see former student". Local. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. August 7, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  30. ^ a b "Letourneau and Fualaau, one year later". Dateline NBC. June 2, 2006. Retrieved May 11, 2009. Cite error: The named reference "Dateline" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  31. ^ Mary Kay latest update, NY Issues.com
  32. ^ Mary Kay Hosts,Fox News
  33. ^ Associated Press (May 21, 2009). "Letourneau, young spouse to host "Hot for Teacher" night". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  34. ^ McNerthney, Casey (May 24, 2009). "Inside the Mary Kay Letourneau "Hot For Teacher" night". The Big Blog. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  35. ^ CBS News: What's Next for LeTuorneau?
  36. ^ {{cite web Law And Order Special Victims Unit Character Dr. Stanton On The Season 11 Episode Conned Was Loosely Inspired By Mary Kay Letourneau | title = The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: A Karaoke Musical | url = http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/comedy/15932/the-mary-kay-letourneau-story-a-karaoke-musical | publisher = Time Out Chicago | year = 2007 | month = February | accessdate = May 11, 2009 }}

External links

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