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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Letourneau Is ‘Sick,’ Mother-In-Law Says

Associated Press

The announcement that former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau is pregnant - possibly by the 14-year-old boy who fathered their daughter last year - came as no surprise, says the imprisoned woman’s estranged husband.

“It’s not surprising,” Steve Letourneau said. “It kind of figures, the way things are going, and as far as I’m concerned, this does not set me back.”

Steve Letourneau spoke to the Orange County (Calif.) Register on Saturday from his home in Anchorage, Alaska, where he lives with the four children he had with Mary Kay Letourneau. He has filed for divorce.

“She’s one sick person,” said Sharon Hume, Steve Letourneau’s mother, also from Anchorage. “I don’t really care what happens to her. She’s so stupid. … God only knows what her family is thinking.”

Mary Kay Letourneau’s lawyer, David Gehrke, confirmed Saturday that the 36-year-old woman became pregnant about six weeks ago - just days before she was caught in a car with the boy she had been convicted of raping.

The two have a 10-month-old daughter, Audrey, who is being cared for by the boy’s mother in Seattle.

Steve Letourneau’s companion, Kelly Whalen, said the news could be most devastating to the four children Mary Kay Letourneau bore with her husband.

“It saddens me beyond belief,” Whalen said. “Just the actions alone. It’s bad enough that they’re having to deal with the first sibling - and now a second.”

The children - the oldest a teenage boy - have not been told of their mother’s latest pregnancy pending advice from a psychologist, Whalen said.

“We had just started to get along,” she said. “Our emotional level was just coming to a plateau. Our psychologist is saying their concept of love has been shattered.”

Gehrke said Mary Kay Letourneau wants to have the baby.

He said the child likely will remain with her for six months after its birth but probably then would be removed to her family or foster care.

State Department of Social and Health Services spokeswoman Kathy Spears said Sunday the baby could be placed in state custody and later in foster care, but she was hesitant to predict what would happen in this case.

“I hate speculating on this with it like nine months down the road,” she said.

“If the parents can’t care for the child and there’s no immediate family structure, … there’s a possibility that the child will be placed into state custody and placed in foster care.”

Spears said she was not familiar with other jailhouse birth scenarios, and would not speculate as to whether Mary Kay Letourneau might be reunited with the baby upon her release.

Gehrke said Mary Kay Letourneau could face further rape charges if her 14-year-old former pupil is proved to be the father of this baby.