What Was The Mary Kay Letourneau Sex Scandal Of The 1990s That Shocked America?

Premiered on August 28, 2022, the Discovery+ docuseries ‘Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal’ attempts to chronicle the scandalous affair of an elementary school teacher with her 12-year-old student that left America shocked and enraged in the 1990s.

Mary Kay Letourneau’s affair with her student Vili Fualauu included everything from French-kissing on school grounds to sexual escapades at her family home. One question plagued the mind of countless Americans was all of this really “true love” or was it sheer pedophilia?

Who Were Mary Kay Letourneau And Vili Fualauu?

Born in Tustin, California Mary Kay was raised in a strict Catholic household. She attended Cornelia Connelly High School and then Arizona State University. During her time at Arizona State University, Mary met Steve Letourneau who became the father of her four children. She revealed that she didn’t want to marry Steve as she wasn’t in love with him but her parents forced her to get married. Their marriage suffered because of financial problems and the Letourneaus regularly engaged in extramarital affairs. After getting a teaching degree from Seattle University in 1989, she began teaching second grade at Shorewood Elementary School.

Not much is known about Vili Fualauu except for the fact that he led a traumatic childhood. He was in second grade when he met Mary and they started their relationship in the summer of 1996. The duo went on to get married after Mary was released from jail and welcomed two children together but then got divorced in 2019. Vili became a DJ in Seattle and keeps his life private for most parts but he reportedly spent the last days of Mary Kay by her side.

The Details of Mary Kay Letourneau Scandal

The police found Mary and Vili in the back of her car in a marina parking lot on June 18, 1996. They both gave fake names when asked for identification, Vili lied about his age saying that he was 18 while Mary lied that no touching had taken place. Subsequently, the two were taken to the police station where Vili’s mother was contacted but the police didn’t share with her what had taken place in Letourneau’s car. Mary was arrested on March 4, 1997, after a relative of her husband contacted the police and complained against her.

Mary pleaded guilty to second-degree child rape and the State sought to sentence her to six and a half years in prison. Although, through her plea agreement, her sentence was reduced to six months and three years of sex offender treatment. She could not contact Fualaau as part of her agreement but the two were once again caught in the back of her car after her release and were once again sent to jail for six years. She was finally released in 2004.