Recently released footage from body cameras captures the surprise and emotional breakdown of an Illinois school teacher who was apprehended for supposedly molesting a 15-year-old student last month.
The recording depicts Christina Formella, aged 30, being stopped by the police during a traffic stop last week and subsequently being arrested on charges related to engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student two years prior.
Formella stands accused of sexually abusing the boy in a classroom during a tutoring session before the start of class at Downers Grove South High School in December 2023. Prosecutors reported that the victim’s mother came across the alleged assault while reviewing her son’s text messages on his mobile phone, prompting her to contact the authorities.
Christina Formella is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. (DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office)
Formella denied having sex with the minor and claimed the student had broken into her phone and used her number to send himself inappropriate text messages to blackmail her, according to the New York Post.
She reportedly told investigators that “everybody comes after her because she is good-looking and she is just a good person who cared too much about (the boy),” according to court documents obtained by WGN.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said the allegations against Formella are “extremely disturbing.”
“It is alleged that she used her position of trust and authority as a tutor and a coach to sexually assault a minor student. The type of abuse and behavior alleged in this case will not be tolerated,” Berlin said.
“The safety and well-being of our children remain our highest priority, and we will take all necessary actions to ensure that anyone engaging in this type of conduct is held accountable.”
Christina Formella in a police car. She denied having sex with the minor and claimed the student had broken into her phone and used her number to send himself inappropriate text messages to blackmail her. (YouTube/APE HUNCHO Dupage County, IL)
Formella has been charged with one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
She has been released from custody on the condition she does not enter Downers Grove South High School and does not make contact with anyone under the age of 18. She is scheduled to appear in court on April 14.
The state’s attorney’s office said the defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
At her appearance, the Court denied the state’s motion to detain Formella pre-trial and released her with conditions including no entry into Downers Grove South High School and no contact with anyone under the age of eighteen.
