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Abstract: 

In early 1997, the King County, Washington, Department of Public Safety Special Assault Unit received information that Mary K. Letourneau—a 35-year-old sixth grade teacher and mother of four children— was having sexual intercourse with “V.F.,” a 13-year-old student at the school where she taught. After an investigation, Letourneau was charged with two counts of second degree rape of a child. In August of 1997, she pleaded guilty to the charges. Her request for a Special Sexual Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) was granted. The trial court sentenced her to 89 months of total confinement, suspended on various conditions. She was to have three years of specialized treatment for sexual deviancy and no contact with the victim or with any minors without supervision of a responsible adult having knowledge of the convictions. She was additionally sentenced to community custody for two years, to commence upon completion of the terms of confinement.

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Affiliations:  1: University of Dayton School of Law.