Teen Tells of Affair With Teacher

April 4, 2002 -- At 18, Vili Fualaau is a man now.

But the story he told in court Wednesday was about his childhood. When, like a lot of boys his age, the 12-year-old had a crush on his sixth-grade teacher.

"I thought she was pretty hot," Fualaau said on the witness stand in a King County, Wash., courtroom, when asked about Mary Kay Letourneau, his teacher at the time at the Shorewood Elementary School in the Seattle suburb of Burien.

Letourneau, who was 34 at the time and married with four children, went on to have an affair with her student that produced two children — and a rape conviction, for which she is currently in prison.

Now, the Fualaau family is suing the school district and Des Moines, Wash., police department for failing to prevent that relationship by ignoring warning signs — including a 1996 incident in which Des Moines police found the two in a parked van in the early morning hours, but did not pursue an investigation.

Defense attorneys say the Fualaaus, who have made money selling their story to tabloid news outlets, are simply looking for more money. They are seeking $1 million.

Vili Fualaau and Letourneau have also written a book about their affair. The children, daughters now 4 and 3 years old, are being raised by Fualaau's mother.

In a February deposition, Fualaau said he is no longer in love with Letourneau, is sick of the children and being on the news, and has suffered from suicidal depression. He also said he is being treated for alcohol abuse.

X-Rated Details

Fualaau testified, in what was at times X-rated detail, about how the teacher and student became involved. It began, he said, when he needed help with his history lesson.

"I was supposed to do the test, and for every answer I got right on the test she would take part of clothing off that she had on," he said. He said the tactic motivated him to do better in history.

As a reward for doing his history assignment, he said Letourneau took him out to dinner one night. The two quickly began to flirt, kicking each other under the dinner table and talking.

"I asked her what she would do if I was to go over and kiss her," he testified. "She said only a coward would wait and a warrior would go over and do it."

So he kissed her.

Proposed to His Teacher

By the end of the school year, Fualaau said he proposed to his teacher while on a three-day sleepover at her house, giving her a ring he found on the street.

Her husband and their four children were home at the time, he said.

"She took off her husband's ring and put mine on," he said.

Jurors were shown a video from that sixth-grade class, so they could see what Fualaau looked like back then.

What they saw was a young, ordinary looking schoolboy playing with his classmates.

The trial continues with more testimony from Fualaau today. Letourneau is expected to testify through a satellite video link from behind bars later.