An Illinois grand jury has indicted an Illinois high school teacher on 52 additional charges stemming from the alleged sexual assault and abuse of a student in 2023.
Christina Formella, 30, was pulled over during a traffic stop and taken into custody after being charged with various sex crimes for having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student in 2023.
Formella was accused of sexually assaulting a boy in a classroom during a tutoring session at Downers Grove South High School in December 2023. The victim’s mother discovered the alleged assault while scrolling through her son’s text message thread on his cellphone and then called police, according to prosecutors.
Formella faced two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault in her first court appearance on March 17.
On Tuesday, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that Formella had been charged with 52 additional counts of previously unknown sexual abuse and assault against the student.
The grand jury indicted Formella on 20 counts of sexual assault, 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, six counts of indecent solicitation of a child, and six counts of grooming, all of which are felonies.
Berlin’s office said in a press release. On March 15, the victim, who was 15 at the time of the alleged assault, went to the Downers Grove Police Department with his parents to report inappropriate sexual contact allegedly committed by the boy’s tutor and soccer coach, later identified as Formella.
The Downers Grove Police Department and the DuPage County Children’s Advocacy Center launched an investigation, which resulted in the initial charges.
A subsequent investigation, which included interviews with the victim in which he alleged additional sexual abuse by Formella, revealed that the sexual abuse began in January 2023 and continued until August or September 2024.
During that time, according to Berlin’s office, Formella allegedly sent the boy multiple text messages that were “grooming in nature.” The investigation also revealed that the victim and Formella allegedly engaged in sexual acts approximately 50 times, both at school and at Formella’s home. According to the allegations, the two engaged in sex at least 45 times at school.
“The new allegations against Ms. Formella, including the allegations of grooming and that the abuse lasted nearly two years, are beyond disturbing,” Berlin warned. “I commend the victim in this case for having the courage to speak out during what I’m sure was a very difficult time for him.
“I also thank the DuPage County Children’s Center, particularly Investigator George Fencl, as well as Assistant State’s Attorneys Jaclyn McAndrew and Michael Fisher for their work not only in this case but for their continued efforts protecting our children.”
Formella appeared in court for a status hearing on Tuesday morning, and the state filed a second petition to deny her pretrial release, which Judge Mia McPherson denied.
Her next appearance is scheduled for August 4.
Bodycam footage of Formella’s arrest showed her looking perplexed when police asked her to exit the vehicle during a traffic stop.
They then arrested her and put her in the back of a police vehicle, where she inquired about her detention.
Formella was heard sobbing in the back seat of a police car and asking for her husband, her childhood sweetheart whom she married last year, according to reports.
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she said in the March 16 video, still crying in the back seat.
Formella, a soccer coach, began tutoring the alleged victim after he broke his collarbone, and they started messaging on a school platform, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. The pair then allegedly exchanged provocative texts, followed by FaceTime chats, which resulted in the December 2023 sexual incident.
