An Illinois special education teacher who is married is facing accusations of raping a 15-year-old student. According to court documents, she had written a “memoir” on her phone’s notes app where she accused the student of cheating on her.
Christina Formella, a 30-year-old teacher at Downer Grove High School, expressed her anger in the memoir, claiming that she was upset that the student had “cheated on me” when their relationship came to an end, as reported by People Magazine in a petition to deny her pre-trial release.
“We will never ever be together again,” Formella allegedly wrote.
“I’m not a second choice. I’m the best thing you’ll ever have even with all of my mistakes.”
Prior reports from CrimeOnline revealed that explicit text messages allegedly sent by Formella to the underage student were found in court records obtained by People Magazine. Authorities stated that the texts described the sexual abuse and were discovered by the victim’s parent.
The victim’s mother discovered the alleged assault when looking through her son’s text message thread on his cell phone,” the statement said.
Police said the sexual assault started during a 2023 tutoring session inside a classroom with the defendant and the victim. The student ultimately ended the relationship, according to court documents.
In a section titled “Manifestations,” Formella allegedly wrote that she had hope that the student would reach out soon to “try to fix things between us.”
Prosecutors stated that she also wrote, “In the meantime, I’m going to live my best life knowing he’s not the person I thought he was and that he is beneath me.”
When police questioned her about the note, Formella claimed any sexual content referred to her husband.
Formella and the teen reportedly only had one sexual encounter, which allegedly took place inside a classroom. The student ended the relationship after both admitted it was wrong.
She denied the accusations against her, telling police that “everybody comes after her because she is good looking, and she is just a good person who cared too much about [the victim].”
She’s facing charges that include two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault against a minor.
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[Feature Photo via DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office]
