Mary Kay Letourneau, jailed for raping underage student she later married, dies Mary Kay Letourneau, the former Seattle-area schoolteacher who was at the center of a national scandal in the 1990s when she was convicted of raping her sixth-grade student whom she later married, has died, her attorney confirmed to KOMO News Tuesday night Letourneau lost a battle with cancer, her attorney, David Gehrke, said. Letourneau was a former Highline teacher who passed away after being ill for some time. She was 58 "It was expected but sad anyway," Gehrke said. "She was a good person.“ Letourneau generated international headlines when she admitted to a relationship with Vili Fualaau, who was her sixth-grade student at the time. The relationship began when Fualaau was a 12-year-old boy and Letourneau, who was 34 years old at the time, was his sixth-grade teacher. The classroom teacher met Fualaau when he was a second grader and she was a teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien. Their relationship advanced when the married mother of four and her student began having sex. She was charged with child rape in the case, which made international headlines, and later pleaded guilty under a plea agreement in which she pledged to have no contact with Fualaau. But she was caught having sex with him, again, in a car and ended up serving seven years in prison. fter Letourneau's release from prison in 2004, Fualaau requested the court take back the no-contact order, and the two were married in 2005. They had two daughters together before Fualaau filed documents to legally separate from Letourneau in May 2017. When Fualaau became an adult. the couple married and had two children together. In 2014, Letourneau had another run-in with the law in King County when she failed to appear in court for a suspended driver's license charge. Prosecutors at the time said Letourneau was originally pulled over for expired tabs a year ago and was found to have a suspended license for unpaid traffic tickets. She was ordered into a state relicensing program which would require repayments of fines and help her work to get her license back and avoid a criminal charge. Letourneau failed to show for that program and a criminal case was filed, prosecutors said. And when she failed to appear in court for the criminal case hearing in September, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Fualaau filed for legal separation in early 2017, with sources telling People magazine at the time that he and Letourneau might not ultimately divorce. They were repeatedly spotted together around the Seattle area, where they have lived for years. Two years ago, Letourneau was reportedly working as a paralegal in Tacoma while Fualaau was said to be working as a part-time DJ. ABC News reported that the two divorced in 2019. Anne Bremner represented Letourneau for a civil case and said she would be missed. "I've known Mary for 20 years," Bremner said. "She raised wonderful daughters and she loved hr family."

Mary Kay Letourneau, teacher jailed for raping student she later married, dies at 58

Mary Kay Letourneau, jailed for raping underage student she later married, dies

Mary Kay Letourneau, the former Seattle-area schoolteacher who was at the center of a national scandal in the 1990s when she was convicted of raping her sixth-grade student whom she later married, has died, her attorney confirmed to KOMO News Tuesday night

Letourneau lost a battle with cancer, her attorney, David Gehrke, said. Letourneau was a former Highline teacher who passed away after being ill for some time. She was 58

"It was expected but sad anyway," Gehrke said. "She was a good person.“

Letourneau generated international headlines when she admitted to a relationship with Vili Fualaau, who was her sixth-grade student at the time. The relationship began when Fualaau was a 12-year-old boy and Letourneau, who was 34 years old at the time, was his sixth-grade teacher.

The classroom teacher met Fualaau when he was a second grader and she was a teacher at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien. Their relationship advanced when the married mother of four and her student began having sex.

She was charged with child rape in the case, which made international headlines, and later pleaded guilty under a plea agreement in which she pledged to have no contact with Fualaau. But she was caught having sex with him, again, in a car and ended up serving seven years in prison.

fter Letourneau's release from prison in 2004, Fualaau requested the court take back the no-contact order, and the two were married in 2005. They had two daughters together before Fualaau filed documents to legally separate from Letourneau in May 2017.

When Fualaau became an adult. the couple married and had two children together.

In 2014, Letourneau had another run-in with the law in King County when she failed to appear in court for a suspended driver's license charge.

Prosecutors at the time said Letourneau was originally pulled over for expired tabs a year ago and was found to have a suspended license for unpaid traffic tickets. She was ordered into a state relicensing program which would require repayments of fines and help her work to get her license back and avoid a criminal charge.

Letourneau failed to show for that program and a criminal case was filed, prosecutors said. And when she failed to appear in court for the criminal case hearing in September, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Fualaau filed for legal separation in early 2017, with sources telling People magazine at the time that he and Letourneau might not ultimately divorce. They were repeatedly spotted together around the Seattle area, where they have lived for years.

Two years ago, Letourneau was reportedly working as a paralegal in Tacoma while Fualaau was said to be working as a part-time DJ. ABC News reported that the two divorced in 2019.

Anne Bremner represented Letourneau for a civil case and said she would be missed.

"I've known Mary for 20 years," Bremner said. "She raised wonderful daughters and she loved hr family."