Shocking footage from a police body camera shows the moment a married teacher found out she was being arrested for allegedly raping one of her 15-year-old students.
Christina Formella, a 30-year-old teacher at Downers Grove South High School in Chicago, was taken into custody during a routine traffic stop earlier this month.
In newly released footage, Formella was seen being approached by police as she sat in her car next to her husband and college sweetheart Michael.
During the arrest, the teacher looked puzzled as an officer approached her car window and instructed her to step out, reassuring her by saying, ‘I know you’re confused, I’ll explain everything to you.’
‘Is she going somewhere?’ her husband asked, leading the cop to ask her to pick up her belongings and walk to the back of the vehicle.
Formella turned grey as the officer explained she was the subject of an ‘investigation’, realizing she had not been pulled over for a routine traffic stop.
The teacher looked stunned when the officer ordered her to put on handcuffs and told her she would be interviewed at the station, telling the cop: ‘I’m so scared right now.’
‘You can’t even tell me what this is about?’ she questioned.
Shocking police bodycam footage captured the moment married teacher Christina Formella, 30, realized she was being arrested for the alleged rape of one of her 15-year-old students
Formella initially appeared confused when she was arrested, with separate footage showing her weeping with her head in her hands after learning she was being charged
Christina Formella, 30, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault against a minor after allegedly targeting one of her students
After sitting stone faced and silent in the back of the cop car, Formella was seen in separate footage being led back into the vehicle following her interview with police.
She had learned that she was being charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault against a minor, and sat back in the vehicle with her head in her hands.
Formella repeated ‘oh my god, oh my god’ to herself as she wept from the backseat of the vehicle.
It comes after court records were released that allegedly revealed text messages Formella had sent with the 15-year-old.
Formella, who was a special education and soccer coach, told the young student in one exchange: ‘I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect.’ ‘I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect,’ the student wrote back.
‘I love having sex with you,’ Formella is accused of replying, in texts first reported by local CW affiliate, WGNTV.
‘I know baby I love it so much… It feels so good… It’s so passionate… It’s so intimate … It’s so perfect,’ the student replied.
Formella has maintained her innocence and told police that the student sent the text messages from her phone as ‘blackmail
Formella is married to her college sweetheart, Michael, who she met while studying at Concordia University
Court documents allege Formella had also written about the student in her Notes app on her phone.
Formella told police that she used the app as an ‘outlet for her anxiety’ and references about sex were only about her husband.
The alleged assault occurred in December 2023, but the student’s mother found disturbing messages earlier this month when she logged into her son’s iCloud account after she bought him a new phone.
An investigation has alleged that the inappropriate relationship started when the student had stayed after school for a tutoring session.
The teacher has maintained that she never sexually assaulted the student and that ‘everybody comes after her because she is good looking,’ according to court documents.
She confessed to police that she ‘cared too much’ about the student, but claimed that he broke into her phone and sent the text messages as blackmail.
‘She claimed that one day, [the boy], had grabbed her phone unattended, had entered her passcode… had sent the message to his phone, had then deleted the message from her phone, and had saved it to his phone as blackmail,’ the documents said.
Formella, who was a special education and soccer coach, told the young student in a text exchange revealed in court documents: ‘I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect’
Formella seen sat in the back of the cop car in newly released footage of her arrest
DuPage County State Attorney Robert Berlin said the allegations were ‘extremely disturbing’ and promised the community that, ‘the type of abuse and behavior alleged in this case will not be tolerated.’
Formella has worked at the school since 2020 and has coached the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams since 2021.
Court documents also showed that she was a coach to the student alleging the sexual assault, and after her arrest she was released on paid administrative leave under the condition that she would not enter the school or contact any minors.
‘We are devastated, and our community is reeling,’ Principal Arwen Lyp wrote to students and parents in a letter after her arrest.
‘An adult has been charged with the most serious of violations, and trust has been broken. Our team is here to support students who are impacted by this terrible news.’
