Married Chicago suburb high school teacher charged with having sex with 15-year-old student
On April 14, a Downers Grove South High School teacher who is also a soccer coach at the Illinois high school, will be in court facing charges of having sex with an underaged minor student. On March 17, the DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Downers Grove Chief of Police Michael DeVries announced that the 30-year-old teacher, Christina Formella of Downers Grove, Illinois, was accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. Downers Grove is a Chicago suburb.
According to People, Formella is a married woman and a Special Education teacher who has taught in the high school’s special services department since 2020. She also coached boys’ and girls’ soccer.
In an email message sent to parents at the high school, Principal Arwen Lyp wrote, “We are devastated, and our community is reeling. An adult has been charged with the most serious of violations, and trust has been broken.”
Formella’s initial court appearance on March 17 ended with her being charged with:
- one count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse (Class 1 Felony),
- one count of Criminal Sexual Assault (Class 1 Felony), and
- one count of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse (Class 2 Felony).
At that appearance, the Court denied the State’s motion to detain Formella pre-trial. Instead, the teacher was released on the conditions that she would have no entry into Downers Grove South High School, and no contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Background: On March 15, 2025, the victim, who was 15-years-old at the time of the alleged assault, and his mother went to the Downers Grove Police Department to report the inappropriate sexual contact allegedly committed by the boy’s soccer coach/tutor, later identified as Formella. The victim’s mother discovered the alleged assault when looking through her son’s text message thread on his cell phone.
Following an investigation by the Downers Grove Police Department and the DuPage County Children’s Advocacy Center, it was alleged that in December 2023, the victim and Formella were in a classroom for a tutoring session before school began, when Formella sexually assaulted the boy.
“The allegations against Ms. Formella are extremely disturbing,” Berlin said. “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….”
Chief of Police Michael DeVries added that, “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.”
On March 16, 2025, Downers Grove detectives conducted a traffic stop on Formella and took her into custody. A police bodycam video captured Formella’s arrest and a surreal exchange between her and the arresting officer. In the video, we see Formella getting out of her car while her husband was in the passenger seat.
The arresting Downers Grove police officer said, “You can just grab whatever you need.”
“Whatever I need?” she asked, as her husband questioned while in the passenger seat, “Is she going somewhere?”
“Yeah, we’re going to explain everything to you guys,” the officer insisted, before handcuffing her.
“Excuse me, is my husband coming with?” Formella said as she sat in the back of the car, adding, “Am I in trouble? I am so lost right now.”
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she said as an officer went to get her a bag as she hugged her knees and cried.
When Formella attends court on April 14, she’ll appear before Judge Mia McPherson.
Below, see the shocking police bodycam footage that captured the moment Formella realized she was being arrested for the alleged rape of one of her 15-year-old students.
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(Source and booking photo of Christina Formella: DuPage County State’s Attorney)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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