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The Washington teacher spent seven years in prison for her affair with her 12-year-old student, with whom she had two children. She was a married mother of four when the affair began, but somehow the infidelity issue seems somewhat minor.

Letourneau first met Vili Fualaau when she had him...uh, taught him as a second grade student. Apparently, at that stage it was a strictly platonic relationship, what with Fualaau still prone to occasionally soiling himself.

When the boy reached the sixth grade, he found Letourneau as his teacher once again. She began an affair with Fualaau that resulted in Letourneau getting pregnant, giving new meaning to the phrase "teacher's pet." The affair was discovered and Letourneau was charged with statutory rape and given a sentence of greater than (>) five months but less than (<) seven years.

She was released after six months and ordered her to stay away from Fualaau, but a month after her release she was caught by police having sex with him in her car (his bicycle being in the shop for repairs). The incident resulted in Letourneau's second pregnancy by Fualaau, not to mention a ticket for littering.

Letourneau was then sent to prison for seven and a half years, getting out just in time to give her oldest child dating tips.

Like everyone else, I sit and wonder what can go through an otherwise normal adult's mind to make them look at a 12 year old and say "He/she's hot!"

Thinking back to when I was twelve, I suppose this kind of relationship is sort of a twelve-year-old boy's fantasy. When I was in the sixth grade, my friend Tom Kelley and I drew a picture that included actors, politicians and just about every celebrity of the day. No doubt our favorite was Raquel Welch, whom we both took turns repeatedly erasing and re-drawing, especially her breasts. That's what 12-year-old boys think about. OK, so do 42-year-old boys. The difference is that neither of us now would be salaciously drawing pictures of the prepubescent Olsen twins. No adult would be fantasizing about this kind of relationship unless he's a member of NAMBLA.

That said, Letourneau must've known that it wasn't a relationship that could be made public. You couldn't double date because it's unlikely that you can find another couple that wants to go to Chuck-E-Cheese.

Every relationship has it's problems like when your significant other has to break a date because he has a Little League game. Fights must be a one-sided battle since she would make him take a "time out." Or perhaps a date might end sooner than you'd like because your date has to be in when the street lights come on. I don't know how they spent their first anniversary together. Perhaps she made him a nice meal and he gave her a pack of baseball cards.

On the other hand, people with kids often have problems finding a sitter so they can go out on a date, but if you're the sitter AND the date it kills two birds with one stone.

Most couples hope to grow old together as their hair and teeth fall out. It's a little weird to think of starting a relationship with someone just getting body hair and their grown-up teeth.

Now free, Letourneau won the right to see Fualaau since he's now 21 years old and can buy his own liquor.

All of this puts the notion of a parent/teacher conference in a new light.

You might not be just discussing Johnny's grades but meeting your new in-law.

Originally published in The Stoneham Sun.