The husband of accused pervert teacher Christina Formella stood by her as she arrived in Illinois court Tuesday to face new charges that she had sex with a teenage student some 50 times and started grooming the boy when he was 14.
Michael Formella held hands with his 30-year-old bride even as prosecutors alleged that she told the boy that she had no intention of marrying her husband, that she was going to leave him and get millions of dollars — and that she even sent the teen messages while on vacation with him in Italy, according to the Daily Herald.
Christina Formella, a former teacher at Downers Grove South High School in suruban Chicago, is now facing 55 charges including aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sex abuse and grooming. She faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
Christina Formella arriving at the DuPage County Circuit Court in Illinois on June 17, 2025. (Courtesy of Abby Blabby, TikTok/@abbylynn0715)
She walked up to DuPage County Circuit Court Tuesday hand-in-hand with her spouse and accompanied by her defense team, according to footage obtained by The Post from TikTokker Abby Blabby.
The couple stayed mum entering the courthouse.
Despite prosecutors urging the judge to revoke Formella’s bail and lock her up, the judge allowed her to walk free with an ankle monitor.
“She knew what she was doing was wrong,” prosecutor Jaclyn McAndrew said, according to the Chicago Tribune, adding that she “is unbelievably conniving and unbelievably controlling,”
Christina Formella’s mug shot. (DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office)
Formella allegedly groomed the teen boy before engaging in about 50 “sexual acts” with him overall, including at least 45 times at the school where she is a special education teacher, the prosecutor’s office said.
She also had sex with the boy five times at her home during school hours, according to prosecutors.
The illicit relationship began in January 2023 and only ended in September 2024 because the boy said it was wrong, the State’s Attorney’s office said.
But, Formella allegedly started contacting the boy even earlier when he was 14 years old in September 2023 and brought up her husband multiple times.
Formella, a college soccer star, and her husband, a college baseball player, tied the knot last summer after meeting at Concordia University Chicago. Prosecutors previously said the spouse had no clue about the alleged illicit affair.
Other texts detailed about a close call when another teacher almost discovered Formella abusing the boy in a classroom, prosecutors said.
She was initially only charged with three criminal counts and pleaded not guilty to the slew of new charges Tuesday.
Authorities at first believed the alleged crime was more limited before further information came to light with “hundreds if not thousands of text messages,” backing up the alleged victim’s series of events.
Formella’s defense lawyer, Richard Kayne, argued in court Tuesday there was no reason his client should be detained before the trial, considering the new charges in the indictment were handed down last month, but remained sealed.
He said if she was a threat, prosecutors would have brought the upgraded case sooner.
While Judge Mia McPherson said Formella, who coached the alleged victim in soccer, could remain free for now, she slapped further restrictions on Formella, including placing software on her electronics and forcing her to wear a GPS monitor.
By DAVID PROPPER and STEVEN VAGO/New York Post
