An Illinois teacher is facing charges for sexually abusing a 15-year-old teen, a relationship she later tried to dismiss as nothing more than a behaviour of a “stalker” obsessed with her looks.
Christina Formella, 30, who worked as a special education teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove High School, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, after prosecutors said she had a months-long relationship with a 15-year-old student that culminated in sex inside a classroom.
According to the New York Post, she told police the boy had been stalking her and claimed her husband knew about it, but court records suggest he had no idea what was going on.
Formella was arrested earlier this year, but in her interview with police, she tried to frame the situation as a case of a “good looking” teacher being targeted by an obsessed student.
According to court documents filed by DuPage County prosecutors, she claimed the boy was a “stalker” who had planted messages on her phone to blackmail her.
“Throughout her interview, Formella tried to paint the accuser as her ‘stalker’ and claimed that her husband was aware,” the documents state.
But her husband, Michael Formella, who married Christina in summer 2023, roughly six months after the alleged abuse began, told investigators he had never heard of the boy beyond knowing he was a soccer player, reported the New York Post.
“Oddly enough, her husband told detectives that he knows nothing about [accuser] beyond his status as a soccer player,” the report reads.
Investigators uncovered diary-like messages saved on Formella’s phone in which she blamed the teen for “ruining” her marriage. In one entry, she wrote:
“I went back and screen shotted every, single, time that I said we should break up until after the wedding and after you graduated. And every single fing time you came back and convinced me it would be fine. YOU ruined us. I warned you we should never have started dating a long long long fing time ago and you gaslit me and convinced me it was fine.”
In another message, she wrote, “I’m f***iing mad I let a 16 year old f**k with me like that … in the end, we both lost. You lost the girl who would have stuck with you through thick and thin.”*
She also appeared to hope for a reunion in a note titled “Manifestations,” writing, “We WILL be in each other’s lives forever. We will be able to love each other while also living our own lives.”
Prosecutors say the inappropriate relationship began while Formella was tutoring the boy privately. It started with messages that quickly became sexually charged and eventually led to a sexual encounter in a classroom one morning in December 2023, when Formella was 28.
The alleged affair came to light after the boy’s mother found explicit messages on his phone, including one in which Formella reportedly said, “I love having sex with you.”
Despite claiming the boy had blackmailed her, Formella never reported any concerns to school administrators or the boy’s parents. Prosecutors also found shirtless photos of the boy on her phone, saved from his social media, as well as text conversations where she brought him up unprompted.
Formella initially denied ever having sex with the boy, but later admitted to the relationship, saying she knew it was wrong but couldn’t stop because she “cared too much.”
“Defendant admitted that she knew her relationship was wrong, but she was unable to stop it because she cares too much about him,” the court filing said.
She later told investigators that the writings found on her phone were simply a way to relieve anxiety, and insisted any sexual references were about her husband, not the teen.
Prosecutors pushed to have her detained pretrial, but a judge released her under the condition that she not go near any school or have any contact with minors.
Formella, who began teaching at Downers Grove in 2020, has since been placed on paid administrative leave. She played soccer at Maine South High School and later for Concordia University, where she met her future husband.
The couple married last year in a picturesque ceremony, with photos showing them dancing and kissing as guests cheered.
Police arrested Formella while she was driving with her husband. As she was taken into custody, Michael appeared stunned and asked officers, “Is she going somewhere?”
Formella is due back in court on April 14.
Christina Formella, 30, who worked as a special education teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove High School, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, after prosecutors said she had a months-long relationship with a 15-year-old student that culminated in sex inside a classroom.
According to the New York Post, she told police the boy had been stalking her and claimed her husband knew about it, but court records suggest he had no idea what was going on.
Formella was arrested earlier this year, but in her interview with police, she tried to frame the situation as a case of a “good looking” teacher being targeted by an obsessed student.
According to court documents filed by DuPage County prosecutors, she claimed the boy was a “stalker” who had planted messages on her phone to blackmail her.
“Throughout her interview, Formella tried to paint the accuser as her ‘stalker’ and claimed that her husband was aware,” the documents state.
But her husband, Michael Formella, who married Christina in summer 2023, roughly six months after the alleged abuse began, told investigators he had never heard of the boy beyond knowing he was a soccer player, reported the New York Post.
“Oddly enough, her husband told detectives that he knows nothing about [accuser] beyond his status as a soccer player,” the report reads.
Investigators uncovered diary-like messages saved on Formella’s phone in which she blamed the teen for “ruining” her marriage. In one entry, she wrote:
“I went back and screen shotted every, single, time that I said we should break up until after the wedding and after you graduated. And every single fing time you came back and convinced me it would be fine. YOU ruined us. I warned you we should never have started dating a long long long fing time ago and you gaslit me and convinced me it was fine.”
In another message, she wrote, “I’m f***iing mad I let a 16 year old f**k with me like that … in the end, we both lost. You lost the girl who would have stuck with you through thick and thin.”*
She also appeared to hope for a reunion in a note titled “Manifestations,” writing, “We WILL be in each other’s lives forever. We will be able to love each other while also living our own lives.”
Prosecutors say the inappropriate relationship began while Formella was tutoring the boy privately. It started with messages that quickly became sexually charged and eventually led to a sexual encounter in a classroom one morning in December 2023, when Formella was 28.
The alleged affair came to light after the boy’s mother found explicit messages on his phone, including one in which Formella reportedly said, “I love having sex with you.”
Despite claiming the boy had blackmailed her, Formella never reported any concerns to school administrators or the boy’s parents. Prosecutors also found shirtless photos of the boy on her phone, saved from his social media, as well as text conversations where she brought him up unprompted.
Formella initially denied ever having sex with the boy, but later admitted to the relationship, saying she knew it was wrong but couldn’t stop because she “cared too much.”
“Defendant admitted that she knew her relationship was wrong, but she was unable to stop it because she cares too much about him,” the court filing said.
She later told investigators that the writings found on her phone were simply a way to relieve anxiety, and insisted any sexual references were about her husband, not the teen.
Prosecutors pushed to have her detained pretrial, but a judge released her under the condition that she not go near any school or have any contact with minors.
Formella, who began teaching at Downers Grove in 2020, has since been placed on paid administrative leave. She played soccer at Maine South High School and later for Concordia University, where she met her future husband.
The couple married last year in a picturesque ceremony, with photos showing them dancing and kissing as guests cheered.
Police arrested Formella while she was driving with her husband. As she was taken into custody, Michael appeared stunned and asked officers, “Is she going somewhere?”
Formella is due back in court on April 14.
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