Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Special Ed Teacher Had Sex With Student 45 Times: Prosecutor

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

Christina Formella, a former special education teacher and soccer coach from South Downers Grove, Illinois, faces more than 50 felony charges related to allegations that she groomed and sexually abused a teenage boy. Formella's case is slowly moving through the courts in DuPage County. Prosecutors have claimed Formella started grooming the boy when he was 14 and sexually abused him in her classroom and at her home. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes over everything we know about the case and what to expect in the new year in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFix Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. You're Christina? Yes. Okay, Christina, do me favor. Can you step out of the car for me? Christina Formella could go on trial this year for a long list of sex crimes involving one of her former students. But you can't even give me like an idea to what this is about.

I look at everything we know about her case as she prepares for a new court date in January. I'm Ann Janette Levy, and this is Crime Fix. It's been more than nine months since police in Downers Grove, Illinois, pulled into Christina Formella's driveway and told her they needed to talk. By the end of the day, in March of 2025, she was in jail, charged with sex crimes related to a student at Downers Grove South High school where Formella was a special education teacher and coach. Formella's case made national headlines for many reasons. First of all, she's very attractive and she knows it. Police said that she told them that people try to get her into trouble because she's good looking. Formella had

been married for less than a year when she was arrested and charged with sexually abusing that male student. She has a good looking husband, a house in the suburbs, and a decent teaching job. So why would she potentially throw it all away to engage in sex with a teenage boy. It's mind-boggling. Second, the details are salacious and shocking and frankly really disgusting. Judge Mia McPherson called the allegations in the case horrific and appalling. The grooming, according to the DuPage County state's attorney, started when the teen boy was just 14 and we'll go into some of what prosecutors are alleging shortly and what Formella's team has to say about it. But first, let's go back to March 16th of 2025 when a Downer's Grove police officer went to Formella's home to pick her up

after the teenage boy and his mom went to police and reported the abuse. Hey, how you doing? Hi. Officer Gus went with Downer's Grove. Do you have your license on you? Yes. Tonight. Yeah, I'm not explained.

I'm sure you're confused. I'll explain anything to you. You're Christina? Yes. Okay, Christina, do me favor. Can you step out of the car for me? I know you're confused. I'll explain everything to you.

You don't have anything on you? Just, you can grab whatever you need. Whatever I need? Yeah, whatever you need. If your phone, your person, go and grab it. Is she going somewhere? Yeah, we're going to explain everything to you guys. Now, this is happening because the mother of the boy, Formella is accused of having sex with, went to police.

After the state attorney said she found text messages between her son and Formella on his phone. More on those texts later. It's not a shock at all that the mother reports it to police, but Christina appears shocked when police approach her. Now back to the video. understand what's going on here. I get it, yeah. You can go grab your things. Can he come with me? Yes, yes. You stay there for right now. I'm just stay there, but yes, you can't. But come on back here. Should I shut the car off? Oh, yeah, yeah. Go ahead. It goes off. Sorry, back over here. So, we do have an investigation going on. We have to

talk to you about it at the police department, okay? So we're going to say everything to you there. It's not my investigation. I don't know the full details. But you have to bring you there, though, okay? So I just put you in handcuffs and bring you to the police department. Just a down-trial? Yes, unfortunately, yes. I'm, like, willing to go with you. I get it, yeah. Unfortunately, we have to do it that way. To do me a favor, we're just take this off. Can I ask you what? Of course, yeah. It's not, like I said, it's not my investigation. Obviously, we are here for a reason. So go ahead and turn around for me. So right now you're being detained, and there is a detective that needs to talk to you at the police department.

So we'll let, if your husband, you know, he can just come to the police department as well if he wants to wait for you there. I'm like, I get it, you have a lot of questions. Yeah, everything's okay, we just need to talk to you at the police department, that's all. Nothing else on your pocket right on anything else. Just your phone. Just your phone? Okay. Okay.

All right, sitting back in this car. On the other side, once you get to the police department, you'll talk to detective and he'll explain everything to you. But you can't even give me like an idea as to what this is about? Other than I just an investigation that's probably can't really tell you right now. I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more. Is he coming with me? We'll let him know right now.

The he that is the person in the passenger seat and he's her husband. They were married this summer before. Now, even on the way down to the station, Christina has no idea what's going on. But I really would prefer that my husband's with me. Of course.

We're going to be. I'm gonnae. I'm gonna... ...notice... ...for... ...their... ...that... ...their...

...the... ...the... am i in trouble like i'm so i'm so lost right now i'm i'm sure you are like i said i can't answer me talking about right now you're made to take court investigation and we're bringing you and once you get there they're going to tell you in another thing police drove formella to the police station detectives questioned her there and remember i told you this all started when that teenage boy's mom saw text messages between her son and Formella. The state attorney said the woman was setting up her son's new iPhone when she found the Todry texts between the two of them. One was between her son

and an unknown number. The prosecutor said that the woman's son wrote in one of the texts, I love you so, so much, Mama. And the unknown number texted back, I love you so much, baby, even though this morning was short, it was perfect. The teen messaged back, I know, baby, it was perfect, baby, so perfect. The unknown number, then texted back, I love having sex with you. And the teen responded, I know, baby, I love it so much. It feels so good. It's so passionate. It's so intimate. It's so perfect. Now, I can only imagine what that mother was thinking when she read these text messages. So mom is likely livid, and she marches her son down to the Downers Grove, PD. A petition for Formella's detention from March of 2025 stated, according to the teen, he and defendant,

had developed feelings for each other. The teen said that one morning in December 2023, before school, he had met up with the defendant in her classroom. The teen said that defendant had closed her door, which automatically locked, that they had started kissing, that he had grabbed her butt, and she had grabbed his private parts over the clothes, that she had removed his pants and underwear, that they had removed her leggings, and that they had engaged in sexual intercourse while standing up. As police drove Christina Formella to the police department, you can kind of see the wheels turning

in her head. What could this be about and why am I in handcuffs in the back of the cruiser? Remember, her reactions. They will become important later. Prosecutors say Christina Formella denied having sex with the teenage boy when detectives interviewed her. And they said that she claimed that everyone comes after her because she's good looking. The state's attorney said that Formella also told them that she just cared too much about this teenage boy. When detectives confronted Formella about notes she had written in her iPhone, prosecutor said she claimed they were an outlet for her anxiety brought on by this teenage boy. Now, here's one of the passages that detectives said they found in Formella's phone. I'm not upset. I'm

mad. I'm not any of that. I've just lost interest. I went back and screenshoted every single time that I said we should break up until after the wedding and after you graduated. And every single effing time, you came back and convinced me it would be fine. I initiated every single breakup, only for you to end things saying you couldn't get over it. You ruined us. I warned you, we should have never started dating a long, long, long, effing time ago. And you gaslit me and convinced me it was fine every single time because that's who you are. We will never, ever be together again. I'm not a second choice. I'm the best thing you'll ever have, even with all of my mistakes. You once again waited and strung me along until it was convenient for you. It broke me last time. This time it changed me.

I'm not sad. I'm effing mad that I let a 16-year-old F-word with me like that. And I made a promise to myself that I will never let any guy F word with me like that again. Now, police said there was a section in Formella's so-called memoir entitled Manifestations that read, The Teen is going to reach out to me soon and try to fix things between us. In the meantime, I'm going to live my best life knowing he's not the person I thought he was and that he is beneath me. Police said they found another note in Formella's phone from November 2024 that read, The teen and I will connect again soon in a positive way. We will both get the closure we need in order to move on in a healthy way.

We will be able to be a part of each other's lives forever. We will be in each other's lives forever. We will be able to love each other while also living our own lives. As detectives questioned Formella, the state attorney, said, she denied having sex with the teen, but in the same breath, admitted that her relationship with him was wrong, but she couldn't break it off because she cared too much about him. Detective said Christina Formella referred to the boy as her stalker and that her husband knew about this, but when they asked her husband about him, he only knew about the boy as a student.

The questioning ended with Christina Formella going to jail. I'm just going to put your seatbelt on you. Unless, are you able to leave it down there? All right, sure you don't want a tissue or something? I'm feeling I'm going to throw up. A bag? That's cool. All right.

Sean, can you grab like a bag out of there? Um, honestly, I'm trying to grab like a bag out of there. Hey, can you get like a bag? like a bag just in case she gets nauseous? Yeah. I don't know. Do we have any of those emissos bags like laying around the fire? I figure she's something better than nothing. Christina Vermela says she fears

that she may throw up. She's been interviewed by police and according to the records that I mentioned, it did not go well for her. As she sits in the back of the transport vehicle, the gravity of this situation hits her. Oh... Oh my god.

What the... What the... I don't know. No. on the floor here, all right? Okay. A few paper towels on the floor here if you need it, all right? Okay.

Thank you. Christina Formella gets comfortable for the ride to the jail, and it seems to take a while. Eventually, she calms down and stops crying, and the next day, a judge allowed her to be released over the objections of prosecutors, but she was ordered to not have any contact with the victim. Formella's seemingly charmed life appeared to be in shambles. Then came a hearing in June of 2025 for a hearing. prosecutors announced a grand jury indictment, charging her with more than 50 new felonies, including sexual assault, grooming, and indecent solicitation of a child.

And the sexual encounters, according to prosecutors, were not a one-time thing. And they claimed the grooming started when that boy was 14. Assistant State's attorney, Jacqueline McAndrew, said during the hearing, they had sex so many times that the teen was able to describe the marks on the defendant's right butt cheek, on her chest and in the middle of her back. And again, the defense attaches to its response, this arrest card, and says, well, the police didn't note any tattoos. And here the boy says, well, she does have a tattoo. McAndrew said during the hearing that there were at least 45 sexual encounters, some at the school and some at Formella's home. The text messages are laid out

in the petition, and I'm not going to rehash them. I know your honor has had an opportunity to review those. But there are text messages dated November 6th. of 2023 at 8.45 p.m. on a Monday. And in those text messages, they discussed the fact that a teacher almost walked in on them. McAndrew continued. This defendant continued to abuse the teenage boy despite the fact that in the midst of this, apparently the defendant's own neighbor had gotten caught doing the exact same thing she was doing, which was sexually abusing a high school student. And there are text messages between the defendant and the boy dated November 4th of 2023. And she talks about how she's scared because she just learned that her neighbor had gotten caught. So she knew what

she was doing was wrong. But none of these close calls deterred her. McAndrew said, so the fact that the defendant coached on Thursdays doesn't mean that they didn't have sex because she abused him during school hours, not after school, during the school day. And it was confirmed by police that Thursdays were blocked days at Downers Grove South. So that corroborates the teen statement. And again, that explains why this defendant selected Thursdays to be the day that she lured the teen into her home to sexually abuse him. And again, she did this even after one of her neighbors had seen the teen walking through the defendant's backyard and had confronted the defendant about it. This was even after the defendant's own husband unexpectedly arrived home one Thursday morning. That didn't stop the defendant. Now, during the hearing, prosecutors were asking that Christina Formella be detained in jail until her trial, but the judge denied the request instead placing strict restrictions on Formella like GPS monitoring, limiting where she could travel and monitoring her electronic devices. Last year, Christina Formella's family issued the following statement in support of her.

The public shaming of women accused of sexual misconduct reflects deeply embedded patterns of misogyny that have persisted across generations. Christina has become the latest target of this troubling phenomenon subjected to relentless personal attacks and sexist scrutiny that ignore the legal process entirely. Major platforms have chosen character assassination overdue process, deploying the same misogynistic playbook used against countless women before her. The double standard is stark and undeniable. When men face accusations, we discuss evidence and procedure.

When women face accusations, we attack their character, their choices, and their worth as human beings. This isn't justice. gender-based persecution disguised as accountability. The spokesperson for Formella's family painted Formella as a victim, saying she's not being covered and accused the media of stalking and hunting her. She's tracked, surveilled, photographed, and followed everywhere she goes. So-called content creators have crossed state lines to stare at her in court and more disturbingly

to approach her directly. They've even followed her into church, violating the sanctity of worship and terrorize. her family. This isn't journalism or accountability. It's predatory behavior masquerading as public interest. When content creation becomes stalking, we've crossed every ethical line that separates legitimate reporting from harassment. As one respected publication recently reported, Christina has been splintered into internet caricatures, predator, unfaithful wife, hypocrite by creators churning out dozens of videos a month and racking up millions of views. The goal isn't truth, it's virality. Now trolls have turned on Christina's friends, stalking them over pregnancies,

publishing the address of a wedding she was invited to, and encouraging strangers to show up or targeting them simply for refusing to denounce her. The intent is clear, public pressure, social shaming, and isolation by mob demand, a coordinated campaign of bullying that has nothing to do with justice. We are not asking for sympathy. We are asking for fairness. We are asking you to respect due process. Like any person accused of a crime, Christina is presumed innocent and her case will be decided in a courtroom, not on a social media platform. Reckless speculation, misinformation, misinformation, and theatrical coverage do nothing to serve justice and set hard-won respect for women back decades. Christina Formella has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges that she faces

she's expected back in court in January as prosecutors are working to get all of the discovery returned over to her defense attorneys, it's not clear how this case will be resolved at this point, whether it will be through a trial or possibly a plea deal of some sort. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.