Mary Kay Letourneau dead: Teacher jailed for sex with student, 13, she later married dies

Mary Kay Letourneau was jailed in 1997 for the rape of Vili Fualaau, 13, who she later married
AP

A former US teacher who was jailed for raping a 13-year-old student she later went on marry has died aged 58.

Mary Kay Letourneau died of cancer at her home near Seattle on Monday night, after a six-month battle with the disease.

Most of her family was with her at the time of her death including Vili Fualaau, her former pupil and ex-husband, who gave her 24-hour care during the last month of her life, CNN reported.

Letourneau was convicted in 1997 for the abuse of the then schoolboy when she was 34.

At the time of the crime, she was already married with four children.

She gave birth to Fualaau's child before serving seven years behind bars. The couple married upon her release and later had a second child.

Fualaau filed for legal separation in 2017 just before their 12- year anniversary. The reasons for their split have not been made public.

Letpourneau's family released a statement confirming her death late on Monday.

It read: "Mary fought tirelessly against this terrible disease.

"Mary, and all of us, found great strength in having our immediate and extended family members together to join her in this arduous struggle.

"We did our very best to care for Mary and one another as we kept her close and stayed close together."

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