A former Illinois special education teacher accused of molesting a 15-year-old student has been hit with 52 additional charges relating to previous accusations of child sex crimes.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced Tuesday in a statement that 30-year-old Christina Formella had been indicted on 52 additional counts of child sex crimes against a student.
‘I feel like I’m gonna throw up.’
Formella is facing 20 counts of criminal sexual assault (Class 1 Felony), 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 1 Felony), six counts of indecent solicitation of a child (Class 3 Felony), and six counts of grooming (Class 4 Felony), Berlin said.
As Blaze News previously reported, Formella was arrested March 16 when she was a teacher at Downers Grove South High School. At the time, Formella was 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).
Police bodycam video of Formella’s arrest shows her appearing confused when an officer asks her to step out of her vehicle during a traffic stop. With her husband in the passenger seat of the vehicle, Formella exits the car and is placed in handcuffs.
Bodycam footage shows Formella crying in the back of the police cruiser.
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” a sobbing Formella is heard saying.
The DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office stated in a previous news release, “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 inappropriate sexual contact allegedly committed by the boy’s soccer coach/tutor, later identified as Formella.”
It was alleged that the student and Formella were in a classroom for a tutoring session before school began in December 2023 when the teacher sexually assaulted the boy, officials said.
But in its press release Tuesday, the State’s Attorney’s Office said, “Following further investigation, it is alleged that the sexual abuse began in January 2023 and continued through August/September 2024.”
“The new allegations against Ms. Formella, including the allegations of grooming and that the abuse lasted nearly two years, are beyond disturbing,” Berlin proclaimed. “I thank the victim in this case for having the courage to come forward during what I imagine is an extremely difficult time for him.”
Authorities noted that Formella “sent the victim multiple text messages that were grooming in nature and that she and the victim had engaged in sexual acts approximately 50 times, both at the school and at Formella’s home, including at least 45 times at the school.”
WGN-TV reported that the following text exchange was allegedly between the student and Formella:
Student: “I love you so so much mama.”
Formella: “I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect”
Student: “I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect.”
Formella: “I love having sex with you.”
Student: “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 alleged victim’s mother reportedly discovered text messages between the boy and Formella on her son’s cell phone.
RELATED: Shocking texts, secret ‘memoir’ reportedly reveal special-ed teacher’s affair with student
In addition, Formella allegedly had a secret “memoir” in her phone’s notes app, in which one note said the student “cheated on me” and called him “disgusting,” according to a petition to deny her pretrial release that People magazine obtained.
“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 asserted that she was the victim of a blackmail scheme the student orchestrated.
“[Formella said] 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 the Daily Mail obtained.
Blaze News previously reported that Formella allegedly told investigators that the student broke into her phone and sent text messages to himself to set her up for 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 obtained by the Daily Mail read.
Formella is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 4, the state’s attorney said.
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