As recently as 2018, Letourneau claimed during an interview on Australia's "Sunday Night" that she didn't know having sex with a 12-year-old student was a crime. Letourneau maintained that she was wrongfully imprisoned, telling "Sunday Night" that "I did the best that I felt at the time the decision that I made, and I tried to take the guilty plea back when I realized I was tricked and coerced into it."
However, a source close to Letourneau told People that by the time she died, the former teacher expressed remorse for sexually abusing Fualaau.
"The bottom line was that she understood on a very deep level that she had really made a mess of her life and the lives of many other people back in 1996," the friend, who received a letter from Letourneau six weeks before her death, told the outlet. "She realized that even though things turned out relatively good, that she was responsible for a wide swath of destruction by her actions. She apologized to a lot of people for a lot of things."
If you, or anyone you know, have been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
