News story. Posted without comments. Discuss

[kjones]

Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau, Vili Fualaau Detail Their Path From Teacher-Student Sex Scandal to Raising Teenagers
ABC News Apr 10, 2015

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mary-kay-letourneau-fualaau-vili-fualaau-detail-path/story?id=30160737

When Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau was forced to go public in 1997 with an affair she was having with her former sixth grade student, Vili Fualaau, after she became pregnant with his child, it was the teacher-student sex scandal heard around the world.

At the time, Mary was a 34-year-old, married teacher in Seattle, who already had four children of her own. Vili was just 13 years old. Mary was arrested and served seven and a half years in prison.

Today, Mary is 53 and Vili is 31. The couple is still together and are about to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. The two daughters they have together are now teenagers -- older than Vili was when the affair started.

Mary and Vili sat down for an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters to talk about how they managed to stay together all these years, despite their very public and forbidden relationship

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. Setting aside the crime itself, she chose his whole future for him when he was 13.

It sucks, and I think it's irresponsible of ABC to celebrate rape.

[packman]

2. I agree

a lot was taken away from the 13 year old. The fairy-tale rosy ending paint is not thick enough to hide what was lost. She was and is a predator who took advantage of her position as a teacher and her sexual experience and should have never been allowed anywhere near him on release.

[kjones]

3. I think the responses ick me the most

The fact that anyone is defending her is, disturbing.
That anyone would buy "happy ending" or "all's well
that ends well" is crazy. "Well he's there, must want
to be there." We would never say that about
domestic abuse victims (male or female)...ok, well,
no one with a heart and common sense would say
that. At this point as well, he has young children...
children that could end up with her should he leave,
and we all know what she is capable of.
That some people insist on saying it is "consensual"
when it cannot me, 13 y/o having no sexual consent,
is beyond me. She groomed him....quite literally into
a groom.

[Doctor_J]

4. You would definitely not see this celebration if the genders were reversed

For one reason the rapist would still be in prison. But I think the typical GMA watcher is a sucker for a happy ending.

[Major Nikon]

5. The big picture about male sexual assault victimization is just starting to evolve

The latest NCVS shows that 38% of victimization is against men and boys. It's a pretty safe bet that the actual victimization isn't increasing, but rather the realization that males can be victims. Now also consider the NCVS doesn't include prison rape, which is epidemic. It's no longer a stretch to say that most sexual assault victims are male.

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/04/male_rape_in_america_a_new_study_reveals_that_men_are_sexually_assaulted.html

The federal definition used for rape just 5 years ago didn't even include the possibility for male victimization.

There's no question that the sexual assault of anyone is a horrible crime, but as bad as it is to be a female victim of rape, imagine how worse it is for a man in a society where few even consider you a victim. Undoubtedly there's no shortage of unwashed assholes who think women who are raped were asking for it, but virtually all of society thinks that about male victims, even if they think about it at all.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

6. Last I read, rape is about power more the sex

Women, girls, boys, weaker men, may all be targets for attack and domination.