Teacher denies molesting 15-yr-old boy, says she was set up because of her ‘good looks’

A married special education teacher charged with molesting a 15-year-old boy claims she was set up because she’s “good-looking.”

Christina Formella, 30, was the boy’s tutor at Downers Grove South High School in the Chicago suburbs. She was also a soccer coach and had recently married her college sweetheart in 2024, the New York Post reported.

The boy’s mother found disturbing texts allegedly discussing sexual contact between Formella and her son after buying him a new phone.

Downers Grove South H.S. teacher and coach charged with sexually assaulting 15yo student after parent allegedly found explicit texts. https://t.co/8NXO1evCKP pic.twitter.com/qoA2sLcAeo

— Eric Horng (@EricHorngABC7) March 18, 2025

“The allegations against Ms. Formella are extremely disturbing,” DuPage County Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

“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.”

Formella is not only denying the allegations but is claiming she had been targeted by the student in an alleged blackmail attempt.

“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 viewed by the Daily Mail alleged.

Downers Grove South High School Coach Christina Formella Charged with Sexually Abusing Student During Tutoring Session.

The boy’s mother uncovered the alleged assault on Friday after she bought him a new phone and was linking it to his iCloud account. She allegedly came across… pic.twitter.com/br6GqoUVQK

— MAGAgeddon (@MAGAgeddon) March 17, 2025

The married teacher allegedly claimed that she had become a target because of her good looks and kind heart.

“[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],” the court documents say.

Investigators, however, claim to have found additional evidence backing the accusation of sexual contact between the pair, the Post reported.

Formella was 28 at the time of the alleged assault/relationship and was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

“We are devastated, and our community is reeling,” school principal Arwen Lyp wrote in a message to parents Monday.

“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.”

Formella was put on administrative leave and released on the condition that she have no contact with anyone under 18 years old. She’s due in court on April 14.

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