Downers Grove teacher faces additional charges related to sex abuse case

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

A Downers Grove South High School teacher accused of sexually abusing a student faces dozens of additional charges after authorities said the alleged abuse was more widespread than initially believed.
Christina Formella, 30, now faces a total of 55 counts, including multiple counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and grooming, which were revealed in DuPage County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
Formella initially was charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse after she was arrested by the Downers Grove Police Department in March.
Formella was arraigned Tuesday on the 52 additional counts and entered a plea of not guilty.
Prosecutor Jaclyn McAndrew asked that Formella be detained under the SAFE-T Act now that additional charges have been brought against her, but that request was denied.
McAndrew unsuccessfully argued that Formella posed a risk to not only the student she abused but other students, noting she lives in close proximity to the high school.
According to prosecutors, Formella groomed the boy when he was 14 years old, lured him into a false sense of security, suggested they had a sexual relationship and physically, emotionally, mentally and psychologically abused the child.
McAndrew told the court that Formella had sex with the boy at least 45 times, including at school, during school hours and at her home. The pattern of abuse lasted almost two years, she said.
'(Formella) knew what she was doing was wrong,' McAndrew said.
Formella also convinced the boy to turn off his location on his cellphone and made the boy feel guilty or shamed, McAndrew said.
'(Formella) is unbelievably conniving and unbelievably controlling,' McAndrew said.
McAndrew said when Formella was initially granted pre-trial release in March, it was believed that it was an isolated incident. However, investigators have since discovered 'hundreds if not thousands of text messages' that corroborate the boy's side of the story, she said.
McAndrew argued before the court that no conditions could mitigate the threat that Formella poses for the community or the victim.
Formella was released after her first pre-trial detention hearing in March and ordered not to have any contact with the victim or children.
Her attorney, Richard Kayne, argued that Formella has complied with the conditions placed upon her in March and there are no threats to anyone in the community. He said that Formella was indicted on the additional charges May 20, but they weren't unsealed until Tuesday. If Formella were a threat, then prosecutors should have made their case sooner, he said.
On Tuesday, Judge Mia McPherson called the case 'horrifying in nature,' 'shocking' and 'appalling,' but she agreed that the community at large is not threatened by Formella. She said she is concerned about the boy that Formella is accused of abusing and believed there could be additional conditions placed on Formella to ensure she has no other contact with the child.
As part of the judge's orders, Formella is required to have electronic monitoring software placed on her cellphones, tablets and computers and her emails and electronic communications monitored to ensure she has no contact with the boy.
Formella was also ordered to wear a GPS monitor to ensure she did not go to the victim's home, school or work, McPherson said.
Formella cannot leave Illinois without court permission and must surrender her passport. She is not allowed entry to Downers Grove South High School and may not have any contact with minors.
Formella faces 60 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
The boy and his mother went to the Downers Grove Police Department in March to report the inappropriate sexual conduct after the boy's mom discovered text messages on his cellphone.