You may or may not remember one of the biggest scandals of the 1990s. A 12-year-old was raped by his sixth grade teacher, who claimed she loved him. She would go on to give birth to two of his children before he turned 15.
The child was Vili Fualaau. According to People magazine, Fualaau recently welcomed a baby girl, named Sophia, into the world. Sophia’s older sister Georgia announced the birth on her private Instagram. It is not known who the mother of the child is.
Georgia posted a photo of Sophia at the hospital. She wrote, “"Hi Sophia, I'm your big sister! You're so beautiful, I can't wait to watch you grow. I'll be right here by your side no matter what ! I love you ."
Mary Kay Letourneau first met Fualaau when he was her second grade student at Shorewood Elementary in Burien, a south Seattle suburb in Washington state. She felt an instant connection with him. "There was a respect, an insight, a spirit, an understanding between us that grew over time," she told The Seattle Times in 1997. "It was the kind of feeling you have with a brother or sister — a feeling that they're part of your life forever."
Letourneau encouraged Fualaau’s artistic endeavors. She kept in touch with him, bought him art supplies, and even took him on trips to museums.
"I didn't know what it meant," she said. "I felt that one day he might marry my daughter."
Things shifted when Letourneau had Fualaau in her sixth grade class. In 1996, just days before Fualaau’s 13th birthday, the relationship became sexual. The relationship was discovered in 1997 by Letourneau’s then-husband, Steve Letourneau. He found a love letter and reported the crime. At the time, Mary Kay Letourneau was already six months pregnant with her and Fualaau's daughter Audrey.
Letourneau pled guilty to two counts of child rape. She was sentenced by Judge Linda Lau to seven and a half years, but this was reduced to six months if Letourneau agreed to get treatment, take medication for her bipolar disorder, and no longer see Fualaau.
Letourneau could not keep this agreement. She went off her medication, did not listen to her counselor, and contacted Fualaau. They were found in a car together. Letourneau became pregnant with their second child.
Judge Lau sent Letourneau back to prison to serve her full sentence. Letourneau had her baby girl Georgia behind bars. A friend told People magazine, “The two of them want to be together. They're drawn together like magnets."
Letourneau and Fualaau got married in 2005. The pair had to petition the court to get a restraining order dropped now that Fualaau was an adult. They separated in 2017 but remained close.
Letourneau died due to stage 4 cancer in July 2020. She was 58 years old. Fualaau was with her when she passed. She left much of her earthly possessions to Fualaau in her will.
