An Illinois special education teacher claims that a teen boy stalked her, while her husband was aware of the student’s obsession, according to prosecutors.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, DuPage County prosecutors said that during her police interview, 30-year-old Downer Grove High School teacher Christina Formella tried to present her victim, a 16-year-old, someone obsessed with her due to her good looks.
Court documents indicated prosecutors noted that Formella depicted the accuser as her “stalker” in diary notes she kept on her phone. However, her husband, Michael Formella, told investigators it was the first time he had heard about any situation involving the boy.
“He [her husband] told detectives that he knows nothing about [the accuser] beyond his status as a soccer player,’ prosecutors said.
The teacher allegedly expressed her anger after the teen ended the so-called relationship, stating she was upset that the “disgusting” student “cheated on me,” as revealed 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.”
Formella told police that she was talking about her husband when she referenced sex in her diary, and that other messaged were written by the student himself, who she claimed planned to blackmail her “because she is good looking.”
“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,” court documents stated.
“She is working so hard to classify her own actions, which is classic predator behavior,” child grooming expert and licensed clinical social worker, Anna Sonoda, told Nancy Grace. “This is grooming…you entice a young boy with the possibility of sexual contact? That doesn’t mean he was the mastermind behind her plan.”
The victim’s mother discovered the alleged assault when looking through her “son’s text message thread on his cell phone,” a police statement said.
Police said the sexual assault started during a 2023 tutoring session inside a classroom with the defendant and the victim.
In a section titled “Manifestations” on her phone, 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.”
Although she initially denied having a sexual relationship with the student, Formella later admitted to it and said she knew it was wrong, prosecutors said.
Christina Formella is facing two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. She’s currently out on bond, with her next court date scheduled for April 14.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo via DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office]
