Husband stands by married teacher who had allegedly groomed her student
The husband of American teacher Christina Formella accused of raping a 15-year-old student stood by his wife as she arrived in court Tuesday to face accusations that she abused the teenager 45 times.
Formella, 30, is now staring down dozens of new criminal counts, including sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child and grooming, according to the Chicago Tribune.
She walked up to DuPage County Circuit Court in Illinois hand-in-hand with her spouse, Michael, and accompanied by her defence team, according to footage obtained by The Post from TikTokker Abby Blabby.
The couple did not speak as they entered the courthouse.
Formella was accused by prosecutors of grooming the teen boy before sexually assaulting him at least 45 times, including while classes were in session at Downers Grove South High School and at her home, The Tribune reported.
She was initially only charged with three criminal counts and pleaded not guilty to the slew of new charges Tuesday.
Formella married Michael, her childhood sweetheart, in a lavish destination wedding in Italy's Amalfi Coast last July – just nine months before the charges were laid.
Formella was initially charged in March, with dramatic police bodycam footage showing the moment she realised she was the subject of police investigation.
The special education teacher first met the student in 2023 when she was his first-year soccer coach but then began tutoring the boy in private sessions after he broke his collarbone, documents obtained by TMZ allege.
Within weeks the young educator is accused of initially messaging the boy on a digital school platform – which then quickly escalated into 'flirty texts' and eventually to an alleged sexual assault during a tutoring session in a classroom.
The horrifying extent of the alleged abuse only came to light several months later when the boy's mum bought him a new phone and uncovered a string of 'inappropriate' texts from his former teacher.
Text messages allegedly exchanged between the pair include one which read, 'I love having sex with you,' as others contained 'lurid lines' she reportedly sent the boy, the New York Post reported on March 19.
'I love you so so much mama,' the boy sent Formella in one text.
'I love you sooooo much baby … Even though this morning was short, it was perfect,' the teacher, then 28, allegedly responded.
'I know baby it was perfect baby so perfect,' the boy replied back, before Formella opined about how much she loved having sex with him.
'I know baby I love it so much … It feels so good … It's so passionate … It's so intimate … It's so perfect,' the boy said.
They allegedly later acknowledged to each other what they did was 'wrong', and never had sex again, with contact ending between them in February 2024.
Formella first appeared in court in April this year.
According to the New York Post, Formella 'appeared glammed up with a full face of make-up' as she entered the DuPage County Courthouse.
On that occasion, Michael reportedly sat 'emotionless in court' as the prosecution went over the charges against his wife, and set out how — if convicted — she would have to sign on to the sex offender registry.
Her father-in-law, Randy Formella, was also in court, the New York Post reported.
The Formella family – who run an Italian food manufacturing business – haven't spoken publicly about the allegations.
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