‘AM I IN TROUBLE?’: Wild video shows married teacher's arrest for raping teen student
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Newly released body-cam footage captured the moment an Illinois teacher realized she was busted for alleged sexual abuse of a male student.
Christina Formella, 30, of Downers Grove, was arrested during a traffic stop last month, just days after a 15-year-old boy claimed to police he was molested by the special education teacher in a Downers Grove South High School classroom in December 2023.
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The video shows Formella being approached by police as she sat behind the wheel of her vehicle — with her husband in the passenger seat.
The teacher appeared confused as an officer walked up to her window and ordered her to get out, saying: “I know you’re confused, I’ll explain everything to you.”
Her husband is heard asking, “Is she going somewhere?,” leading the cop to ask her to grab her belongings and walk to the back of the vehicle, where she is handcuffed.
In footage from the police vehicle, Formella is seen in the backseat where she asks the officer, “Is my husband coming with? Am I in trouble? I’m so lost right now.”
In another video, the teacher is seen sobbing with her head in her hands.
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she said, after learning she was being charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault against a minor.
The release of the arrest footage comes after court records were released that revealed alleged text messages Formella – who was also a soccer coach at the high school – had sent to the boy.
In one alleged text, the boy calls Formella “mama” and professes his undying love, to which she replied, “I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect.”
The student allegedly responded, “I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect.”
According to the court documents, Formella added: “I love having sex with you,” and the boy replied, “I know baby I love it so much… It feels so good… It’s so passionate. .. It’s so intimate … It’s so perfect.”
Formella had also allegedly written about the student in her Notes app on her phone, though she claimed she used the app as an “outlet for her anxiety” and references about sex were only about her husband.
The student’s mother found the disturbing messages when she logged into her son’s iCloud account after she bought him a new phone.
Investigators allege that Formella’s relationship with the minor began when the student stayed after school for a tutoring session.
The teacher denied sexually assaulting the student and claimed “everybody comes after her because she is good looking,” according to court documents.
She confessed to police that she “cared too much” about the student, and she allegedly accused the teen of breaking into her phone and sending the missives as blackmail.
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Formella has been placed on paid leave from her job.
She has been teaching at the school since 2020.
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