A married Illinois high school teacher's skin-crawling text messages to a 15-year-old pupil, in which she professes love and pins for having sex with him, are proof that she sexually abused the boy, police claim. Christina Formella, 30, a special education teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove South High School in Chicago, was arrested during a traffic stop on Sunday.
New court documents have furthered the allegations of sexual abuse, including a text exchange that seemingly shows the two expressing their love for each other. Texts from the student reveal him professing his love for Formella and referring to her as "mama" before the two had sex multiple times.
Shocking Texts Exchanged
Formella allegedly sent the victim the explicit messages in 2023. "I love you so so much mama," the boy sent Formella in one text. "I love you sooooo much baby... Even though this morning was short, it was perfect," the teacher, then 28, allegedly replied.
"I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect," the student wrote back.
Formella wrote back, "I love having sex with you," according to court documents obtained by WGN9. The texts were found on the boy's phone on Friday.
"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 student replied.
Court documents allege that Formella had also written about the student in the Notes app on her phone. She told police that she used the app as a way to cope with anxiety and insisted that any references to sex were about her husband.
The alleged assault took place in December 2023, but the student's mother discovered concerning messages only last week when she accessed her son's iCloud account after purchasing him a new phone.
Investigators believe the inappropriate relationship began when the student stayed after school for a tutoring session.
Formella has denied having sex with the student or sexually assaulting him, and "everybody comes after her because she is good looking."
She admitted to police that she "cared too much" about the student but alleged that he hacked into her phone and sent the messages as a form of 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 said.
Sexual Predator
DuPage County State Attorney Robert Berlin called the allegations "extremely disturbing" and assured the community that "this kind of abuse and misconduct will not be tolerated." Formella has been employed at the school since 2020 and has served as the coach for both the boys' and girls' soccer teams since 2021.
Court records also reveal that Formella was the coach of the student who accused her of sexual assault.
According to her social media posts, she has been married to her college sweetheart since August 2024. Formella faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault of a minor.
She was placed on paid administrative leave with the condition that she must not enter the school or have any contact with minors.
"We are devastated, and our community is reeling," Principal Arwen Lyp wrote to students and parents in a letter.
"An adult has been charged with the most serious of violations, and trust has been broken. Our team is here to support students who are impacted by this terrible news."
