A Loving Teacher

This week, a 20 year-old American scandal was revisited by newspapers. Americans were reminded of the case in which an attractive, convicted school teacher was interviewed by everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Larry King. Several books have been written on the case, and a couple of movies made.   

The story started in 1989, when Mary Kay Letourneau, a 27 year old married woman, with a teaching degree from Seattle University, was hired by the Shorewood Elementary School. Two years later, among her second grade students was an eight year old boy- Vili Fualaau. The school was like any other elementary school, the second grade was like everywhere else, filled with small, noisy brats.

Four years later, in grade six, Mary had Vili Fualaau as her student once more. Outside of school lessons, she was helping Vili develop his drawing skills. He often visited her house, and became friends with her son Steve. By the way, Mary already had four children by this time. While teaching Vili how to draw, Mary felt drawn to him. Their physical relationship began. The boy was 12 years old, and his teacher 34.

In a few months, Mary’s husband found a bunch of love letters between his wife and her student. By now Mary was visibly pregnant. The husband understood the connection between the love letters and the pregnancy. Mary was arrested for second-degree child rape. She was out on bail when her daughter Audrey was born. At the time of her birth, Audrey’s father was 13 years old.

The same year, in August 1997, Mary was convicted of child rape. (An adult having sex with a minor is statutory rape, even when it is consensual. A minor’s consent is no consent. Depending on the country, the adult may not be charged if the age difference between the two parties is less than four years. In the USA, this is called the Romeo and Juliet law. Clearly not applicable in this case).

 In the court, Mary cried and admitted her conduct was immoral and illegal. She was sorry, and promised it won’t happen again. She begged for help. To the court’s surprise, Vili’s mother said Mary was not a bad person; she had simply made a terrible mistake. Mary had been punished enough (by the media) and if she went to jail for a long time, Vili would feel personally guilty for that.

The mandated punishment for the offence was a 7½ year imprisonment. However, Judge Linda Lau considered the circumstances, the plea bargain, and sent Mary to jail for three months, keeping the rest of the prison term suspended, on condition that Mary should never again meet or contact Vili in any way.

The verdict provoked a huge debate. If the perpetrator was a male teacher and the victim a girl student, would any court be so lenient? Some commentators, including the TV host Bill Maher, said this constituted love; they were soul mates, and how could anyone be punished for love. Maher insisted women can’t rape.

In Jan 1998, Mary was freed from jail. She was free as long as she didn’t meet or communicate with her former student. In less than a month, the police found Mary and Vili in a car along with more than $6000 in cash. They were planning to flee the country together. Mary was arrested once again, and another trial started.

Judge Linda Lau noticed Mary was pregnant again. The judge had no choice, though, but to send Mary to prison for 7½ years. ‘You had an opportunity that you foolishly squandered’, the judge told her. In prison, Mary gave birth to Georgia, her second daughter from Vili. The daughter was whisked away at birth, and given to Vili’s mother. Vili’s mother looked after both her granddaughters. The father of those two girls was 14 years old.

A year later, Mary’s husband divorced her, took the four children and moved to Alaska.

In August 2004 Mary was released from prison after serving her full term. The condition remained, however, that she should not meet or contact Vili. If she did, she risked going to prison again. Judge Linda Lau hoped that after spending 7½ years in prison, Mary would have the sense not to break the judge’s order.

The next day though, Vili Fualaau filed a motion urging the court to reverse the order. Vili loved Mary, she was the mother of his two daughters, and he was unable to live without her. As it was, they had not met for more than seven years. 

Judge Linda Lau had no choice. Vili at 21 was now an adult. And if two adults wished to see each other, who was a judge to stop it? Judge Linda granted the motion. Mary, 43, and Vili, 21, reunited. Their daughters were 7 and 6 years old.

The following year, in May 2005, the two married at a winery in Washington in the presence of 250 guests. Two of Mary’s four children from her first marriage attended the wedding. (One of them had played with Vili as a child). Mary adopted the name of her new husband, her former school pupil. Since then her passport name is Mary Kay Fualaau.

Two years ago, the couple celebrated ten years of their happy marriage. They were interviewed on television and their story published by most newspapers.

This week, Vili filed for separation. Mary is now 55; Vili is 33, and their daughters 20 and 19. Vili told the court the daughters are no longer dependent on the parents.

 *****

Those who believed in this immortal love story were shocked on reading about Vili filing for separation. It has been 25 years since he met Mary as a student. They now have two adult daughters. Their celebration of ten years’ wedded bliss confirmed their true love.

Vili, in his latest interview, has comforted everyone. His separation request, he says, is only for technical reasons. He loves Mary, they will continue to live in the same house. Difficult to find useful employment, he wants to start selling Marijuana (legal in some places). The police must verify his and his wife’s records before granting him licence. With Mary’s sex offender status and prior conviction, he has no chance of getting that licence. So they will divorce technically, but will continue to live together and love one another.

One sociologist, while commenting on the whole affair, lamented how young boys seduced by their school teachers find their lives destroyed. Vili has been reduced to selling Marijuana. Mary Kay has completely messed up his life. A much older woman, manipulating a young pupil, will always end up ruining that boy’s life, maintains the sociologist.

Story retold

Some storytellers have suggested there are only seven basic plots, and from Shakespeare to Bollywood films, the same plots are regurgitated all the time. God’s stories are also similar, the same stories repeated again and again. Let me now re-tell the above story with minor variations.

On another continent, there was a school boy whose name was Emmanuel. He studied at a Jesuit high school. Brigitte, one of the teachers, was 25 years older than him. Brigitte was married and had three (not four) children. She was appointed as a drama teacher for Emmanuel’s class.

Emmanuel was 15 when he and his 40-year old teacher began working together on adapting an Italian play called The Art of Comedy. ‘We wrote and little by little I was totally charmed by his intelligence.’ Brigitte said. She added he had mature relationships with adults, whom he treated as his equals. (Mary had said the same about Vili).

It all started with a kiss.

Brigitte’s daughter was Emmanuel’s classmate. When Emmanuel began visiting Brigitte’s house often, his parents mistakenly thought their son was in love with the daughter. When they realised it was the mother he was in love with, neither of them thought it was great news. They decided not to lodge a police complaint against Brigitte in what was called ‘corruption of a minor’ in their country. Emmanuel’s mother requested Brigitte to please not do anything stupid until Emmanuel turned 18. Emmanuel’s father decided to send him to another city for further education. Hopefully distance would put an end to this silly liaison. 

  

Before leaving, Emmanuel assured Brigitte he would return. Whatever you do, I will marry you, the 16-year old boy said. Both knew how passionate their relationship had become.

Living in different cities, they would call each other all the time and spend hours over the phone. ‘Bit by bit, he defeated all my resistance, in an amazing way, with patience.’ Brigitte would recall later.

In 2006, she divorced her husband. The following year, Emmanuel and she married. He was 29 and she was 54. Her children from the first marriage, two of them older than Emmanuel, attended the wedding.

This year they celebrated ten years of their marriage, and twenty-five years of their romance. Their story was picked up by global media and once again debated by journalists, politicians, sociologists, criminologists, and moralists. Despite stormy debates, Emmanuel Macron succeeded in becoming the youngest president of France at the age of 39. On winning, in front of the flashing cameras, he passionately kissed his 64-year old wife, Brigitte.

*****

Plots may be limited in number. Stories are repeated over and over again, with slight variations.

But stories that look identical may have very different endings.

Ravi