The California school teacher who married her rape victim has legally separated from the man who was once in her sixth grade class, and is now looking to date someone her own age.
According to People magazine, Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau have been legally separated for months, and the former teacher and registered sex offender is back on the market.
“She’s on at least one dating site that I know of, but she also has been on the apps,” a source close to Letourneau told People.
“She’s just casually looking around to see if there’s anyone. She’s not someone who does well by herself,” the source continued, adding that Letourneau, now 58, is looking for someone “age-appropriate.”
In 1997, Letourneau pleaded guilty to two counts of felony second-degree rape, but initially spent only three months in jail. She was arrested again after being found in a car with Fualaau, and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. She gave birth to Fualaau’s child eight months into her sentence, and they married in 2005 following her release.
Letourneau will remain a registered sex offender for life.
“Whenever you date someone, you bring a lot of baggage … And she has more baggage than most women,” the source said.
“It’s going to be hard for her to find someone. But she gets it: she isn’t looking for sympathy. She knows that a lot of her issues have been self-inflicted. She’s got times where she feels like she’s getting what she deserves. But at this point, she just wants to be happy for the rest of her life.”
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[Feature image: AP Photo/Alan Berner, Pool. File]
