US teacher charged with sexual assault of 15-year-old student

Christina Formella, a 30-year-old teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove South High School, has been arrested on charges of allegedly sexually assaulting a student.

On March 15, the 15-year-old victim and his mother reported allegations of "inappropriate sexual contact" by the victim's coach to the Downers Grove Police Department, according to the DuPage County State Attorney's Office. The coach was later named as the alleged perpetrator.

Authorities stated that the incident allegedly occurred in December 2023, during a tutoring session in a classroom before school hours. Formella is accused of assaulting the boy at that time. She was arrested on Sunday after being stopped by detectives during a traffic stop."

Teacher sent explicit text messages after assault

The boy's mother discovered he had been sexually assaulted after finding explicit text messages on his phone following the incident.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin stated that Christina Formella had abused her position of authority. “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,” he said in a statement.