Out of Jail, Teacher Found With Boy She Was Convicted of Raping

Mary Kay LeTourneau, the former grade-school teacher who had sex with a 13-year-old student and gave birth to his child, was arrested after she and the boy were caught in a parked car about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

LeTourneau, 35, who got out of jail a month ago, could be sent back to prison for up to 7 1/2 years because a condition of her release was that she not have any contact with the victim or other minors.

LeTourneau was arrested a block from her home in Seattle when officers looking for a stolen vehicle noticed a parked car that looked suspicious because its lights were on and its windows were steamed up, said Carmen Best, a police spokeswoman.

Her lawyer, David Gehrke, said she and the boy, now 14, were clothed and merely talking. The boy was released to the custody of his mother after questioning.

LeTourneau was a married mother of four when she began having sex with the boy in the summer of 1996. Her husband, who now lives with their children, has since filed for divorce.

The boy has said that he was a willing participant and that he and LeTourneau exchanged rings and planned the pregnancy to affirm their bond. He said last year that he hoped they could be together someday. LeTourneau’s daughter by the teenager lives with the boy’s family.

LeTourneau pleaded guilty in August to child rape. She was sentenced to six months behind bars, followed by sex-offender treatment. The Shorewood Elementary School teacher had already served 100 days and was given additional time off for good behavior.

Gehrke said it was clear LeTourneau needed more treatment.

“I fear that the obsession or fixation with this one individual was not overcome by the six months in jail nor by the first few weeks of treatment,” he told a local radio talk show. “She knew she was looking at this prison time, and she chose to take this risk.”

She had promised that she wouldn’t see the boy again even though she still loved him.