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Vili Fualaau’s Parents ‘Can’t Hate’ Mary Kay Letourneau—Here’s Where They Are Now

Their complicated thoughts towards the woman who bore them two grandchildren.
Vili Fualaau’s Parents ‘Can’t Hate’ Mary Kay Letourneau—Here’s Where They Are Now
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Their son was the victim of sexual assault committed by someone he was supposed to be safe with—his schoolteacher. While Vili Fualaau’s parents testified that Mary Kay Letourneau ruined their son’s life, his mother Soona Vili had complicated thoughts about the woman who bore her two grandchildren.

Born Mary Katherine Schmitz on January 30, 1962, in Tustin, California, USA, she grew up in a middle-class family and had a relatively ordinary childhood. She attended Arizona State University and later became an elementary school teacher in the Seattle area. In 1984, she married Steve Letourneau, with whom she had four children. However, their marriage faced difficulties and ultimately ended in divorce in 1999.

While teaching at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Washington, Letourneau developed a close relationship with one of her students. Vili Fualaau was only 12 years old when their relationship turned inappropriate, and it became sexual when he was 13. In 1997, the illicit relationship was discovered, leading to Letourneau’s arrest. According to police reports, Mary Kay jumped from the backseat to the front once she realized officers were approaching the car while Vili pretended to be asleep in the back. They both provided false identification, including Vili claiming that he was 18 years old.

In November 1997, Letourneau plead guilty to two counts of second-degree child rape, and she was sentenced to six months in jail. As part of the plea deal, she agreed to undergo sex offender treatment and not have any contact with Fualaau. Despite this court order, Letourneau and Fualaau continued their relationship, and she was arrested again in 1998 for violating the terms of her plea agreement. This time, she received a seven-year prison sentence. During their testimony, Vili Fualaau’s parents spoke of how they had no idea about their son’s relationship with his teacher.

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