18. Classroom Criminal: Mary Kay Letourneau

Vili Fualaau is a Samoan American man who was just 8 years old when he met his future wife and the mother of his children. From a young age he was gifted, with a particular talent for art. It was this talent for art that first captured the attention of his second grade teacher, Mary Kay Letourneau, in 1991 when he first found himself in her classroom. Mary Kay started giving Vili special attention from this moment on – which from the outside appeared to be a well-intended teacher fostering and mentoring a young student – but later the truth was revealed to be much darker.

Content warnings: discussions of child sexual assault, statutory rape, abuse of a minor, and suicide.

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Case Sources:

https://www.biography.com/crime/vili-fualaau#who-is-vili-fualaau

https://www.historylink.org/File/5727

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-29-ls-45407-story.html

https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/letourneau-registers-as-sex-offender-1150919.php

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/07/parole-revoked-ex-teacher-sent-to-prison-in-teen-sex-case/ed36067d-b2b7-49f6-962e-241b15ff579b/

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20010408&slug=brodeur08m1

https://books.google.ca/books?id=ij4Wc-5krxYC&pg=PA114&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Documentary: Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal

Biography Presents: Mary Kay Letourneau: Autobiography

https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/fualaau-s-suit-says-he-wasn-t-protected-from-1083448.php

https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/schools-police-absolved-in-fualaau-case-1087664.php

American Scandals - Season 1 Episode 8 ''Mary Kay Letourneau: Forbidden Love''

https://people.com/crime/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualaau-relationship-today-source/

https://time.com/6332158/may-december-netflix-true-story-mary-kay-letourneau/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/jan/04/may-december-netflix-movie-vili-fualaau

Podcast: Right Answers Mostly episode “Your least favorite teacher: Mary Kay Letourneau”

Resources for Victims:

https://aasas.ca/contact-us/

https://www.alberta.ca/get-help-for-child-abuse-neglect-and-sexual-exploitation

https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/gender-based-violence-its-not-just.html

https://www.nsvrc.org/survivors

https://www.rainn.org/news/grooming-know-warning-signs

https://www.thecyberhelpline.com/guides/online-grooming

https://endingviolencecanada.org/sexual-assault-centres-crisis-lines-and-support-services/