Photo: DuPage County State Attorney/Downers Grove Police Department
Christina Formella, the soccer coach and special education teacher who later claimed she's was being accused of sexually assaulting an underage student because she is "good-looking," is now claiming she's the victim of misogynistic "sexist scrutiny" and complained about being portrayed as a "predator."
“It’s a spectacle — a public ritual that punishes women not for what they’ve done, but for how they’re perceived,” a rep for Formella’s family said in an exclusive statement to the New York Post on Thursday (July 3).
“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,” the rep added. “This isn’t justice — it’s gender-based persecution disguised as accountability.”
Formella, who had previously worked at Downers Grove South High School in a Chicago suburb, is now facing a total 55 charges including aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sex abuse and grooming, which could carry up to 60 years in prison if convicted. The teacher, who was allowed to walk free with an ankle monitor, is accused of grooming the boy when he was 14 and engaging in about 50 "sexual acts", including having sex with the boy five times at her home during school hours and at least 45 incidents at the school where she worked as a special education teacher, according to prosecutors.
The relationship reportedly began in January 2023 and ended in September 2024, however, Formella allegedly contacted the boy even earlier when he was 14 years old. The former college soccer player reportedly brought up her future husband, Michael Formella, a former college baseball player, multiple times in texts to the boy sent in September 2023.
The couple was married last summer and prosecutors claim Michael was unaware of his wife's alleged affair until her arrest in March. Christina initially appeared in court on March 17 and denied the sexual assault allegations, which were reported to have taken place two years earlier, claiming "everybody comes after her because she is good-looking and she is just a good person who cared too much about [the victim],” according to court documents obtained by WGN9.
The teacher and student allegedly exchanged text messages professing love for each other and talking explicitly about sex they had in a classroom, which was found by the teen's mother on his iCloud account.
“I love you sooooo much baby… Even though this morning was short, it was perfect,” Formella, who was 28 at the time, allegedly wrote to the boy.
Formella claims the boy, who was 15 at the time, got possession of her phone and sent himself explicit messages as part of a blackmail scheme. The boy's mother initially reported inappropriate sexual contact with her son's soccer coach and tutor to the Downers Grove Police Department on March 15.