Downers Grove South teacher pleads not guilty to sexual assault, abuse of student

A Downers Grove South High School teacher pleaded not guilty Monday to sexually abusing and sexually assaulting a student.

Christina Formella was arraigned by DuPage County Judge Mia McPherson on one count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

If convicted of the assault, she could be sentenced to four to 15 years in prison. Probation is not available.

The abuse counts are probationable. One could also have a sentence of four to 15 years in prison and the other three to seven years.

Formella declined to comment after the five-minute hearing.

She is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy in a classroom at the school. Formella had been the boy’s tutor and sports coach.

Her next court date is June 17.

There is also a Friday hearing on whether The Daily Mail can take photos and videos at her court appearances. Her lawyers and the prosecution have objected to the request.

“These videos and photographs will undoubtedly make its way to other media outlets, whose main interest is to appeal to the salacious appetite of a certain segment of the population, who has a bizarre fascination with the facts of this case,” two prosecutors argued in a written response.

They also said that people have figured out who the victim is even though court records only refer to him by his initials.

Defense attorney Todd Pugh said, in his response, that Formella and her neighbors have been “repeatedly harassed by tabloid reporters seeking to sensationalize this case” and that police have been called “numerous times.” He also argued cameras would create a “heightened media spectacle” that could prejudice potential jurors.

On April 4, another DuPage judge ordered that the police and Downers Grove High School District 99 not release any information to the public, including police reports and videos of Formella’s arrest.

Authorities say Formella abused and assaulted the boy in December 2023.

In March, the boy’s mother reported that she found text messages between the boy and Formella on the boy’s phone.

Authorities say they found a “memoir” in the Notes app on Formella’s phone in which she said she loved having sex with the boy. In one Note, she accused the boy of cheating on her, according to the petition. In another, she said she had texted him repeatedly that they should break up until after he graduated, but he convinced her it would be fine, the petition stated.