(NewsNation) — An Illinois teacher is facing charges after allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student after the boy’s mother found text messages allegedly describing sexual encounters between them.
Who is Christina Formella?
Christina Formella is a 30-year-old teacher from Illinois. She was a special education teacher at Downers Grove South High School in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, where she was also a soccer coach.
She married her husband in 2024 and has claimed he was aware of the student, whom she allegedly described as a “stalker.” The alleged abuse began in December 2023 when the student was 15 and Formella was 28.
What is Christina Formella charged with?
Formella was originally facing two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault against a minor. Recently, she was dealt 52 additional charges in the case, according to prosecutors.
The newest charges include multiple counts of grooming and indecent solicitation of a child. Formella allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old student, who is not being identified because of his age, whom she knew from the school’s soccer team.
According to reports, the boy’s mother found out about the abuse when she got a new phone for her son and signed into iCloud. She allegedly saw texts between him and Formella describing a sexual relationship.
Prosecutors are claiming that Formella molested the victim over 45 times, both inside her home that she shares with her husband and at the school.
What is the evidence against Christina Formella?
The alleged texts from the student’s phone include Formella allegedly saying that she loved the boy and allegedly texting “I love having sex with you.” Formella reportedly told police that the boy had taken her phone during class and sent the texts from it as blackmail against her.
In the notes app on Formella’s phone, authorities allegedly found what has been described as a “memoir” of the abuse, including anger at the student and a belief that he would try to “fix things” between them.
Formella allegedly told police those notes were an outlet for her anxiety and that the only sexual activity referenced was that between her and her husband.
What comes next in the case against Christina Formella?
Formella has pleaded not guilty in the case, recently showing up at court hand-in-hand with her husband. True-crime digital creator Abby Escobar, known as “Abby Blabby,” told Banfield, “I don’t think he had a clue the severity of what was going on until the prosecutor read everything off in the court hearing. I think he was just as shocked as everybody else.”
Prosecutors asked to have Formella detained before her trial, but the judge denied that motion. Under her release conditions, she can’t go to the school where she worked, and she can’t have contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 4, 2025.