SEATTLE – The man who married his former sixth-grade teacher after she was jailed for raping him has filed for legal separation from her.

Vili Fualaau watches as his attorney speaks during opening arguments in a lawsuit in Kent, Wash., in 2002. Associated Press/Elaine Thompson

King County court records show 33-year-old Vili Fualaau asked the court for a legal separation from 55-year-old Mary Kay Letourneau on May 9.

Letourneau is a former suburban Seattle teacher who became tabloid fodder when she was convicted in 1997 of raping the then 12-year-old Fualaau. She was 34 and a married mother of four when the relationship began.

The couple married on May 20, 2005, in Woodinville, Washington, after she served a 7½-year prison term for child rape. They have two daughters together.