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An Illinois high school teacher has been charged with sexually abusing a teenage student.
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Christina Formella, 30, of Downers Grove, Ill., was busted on Sunday, just days after a student told police he was molested by the special education teacher in a Downers Grove South High School classroom in December 2023, the Daily Herald reported.
DuPage County prosecutors said she served as a coach for his soccer team and also tutored him.
At the time of the incident, she was 28 and the boy was 15, according to a prosecutor’s petition to detain the educator.
The boy’s mother discovered the assault on Friday after she bought him a new phone and linked it to his iCloud account, authorities said.
The woman saw messages between her son and Formella that discussed sex and a relationship, according to the petition.
Formella denied any sexual contact, however prosecutors found additional evidence indicating sexual contact between the two.
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It was the boy who ultimately ended their relationship.
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“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,” Berlin added. “The type of abuse and behavior alleged in this case will not be tolerated.”
Formella — who married her college sweetheart last August, according to photos she shared on social media — faces two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault.
She was released on the condition she have no contact with the alleged victim or anyone under the age of 18, and is banned from entering the high school she has taught at since 2020.
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