A Downers Grove, Illinois, mom comes across disturbing text messages while setting up her 15-year-old son’s new iPhone using a backup from his iCloud account.The contents prompt her to take her son straight to the police. It appears the teen is discussing a sexual encounter with a love interest—his married, 30-year-old teacher, Christina Formella.

The student informs the police that Coach Formella began sending him flirty messages on the school’s chat system after she became his tutor in the fall of 2023. He explains that their conversations shifted to text after the teacher provided him with her phone number so they could play a game together.

Records show numerous FaceTime calls between the two, with the victim stating that their relationship outside of school culminated in a rape in December.

Formella denies raping the boy or having a romantic relationship with him, asserting that she is a “good person” and that “everybody” comes after her because of her looks. She admits to developing a close relationship with the student and claims that she “cares too much about him,” but simultaneously labels him a stalker.

Formella insists she did not send the texts, arguing that her kindness towards the boy allowed him to break into her unattended phone, send the texts to himself, and then delete them from her phone to later use as blackmail.

Joining Nancy Grace today

Additional Guest

• Sydney Sumner – CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter

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[Feature Photo via DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office]