A married Illinois special education teacher accused of molesting a 15-year-old student told police that she’s being set up by the teen — and that she was targeted for being “good looking.”
Christina Formella, 30, a teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove South High School, insisted to cops she’s a “good person,” but that “everybody” comes after her because of her looks, according to documents obtained by WGN9.
The sporty dirty blonde denied having sex with the teenage student, and said that he accused her of having an inappropriate relationship with him because she “cared too much about him,” the documents show.
Special education teacher Christina Formella, who is accused of molesting a student ,claimed she was targeted for being “good looking.” Dupage County State’s Attorney
Formella — who married her college sweetheart in August last year — allegedly sexually assaulted the boy before the start of the school day in December 2023, DuPage County prosecutors said.
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She claimed that the student had broken into her phone and used her number to send the inappropriate messages to her as a “blackmail” plot, investigators said.
“She claimed that one day, [the boy] had grabbed her phone unattended, had entered her passcode … had sent the message to his phone, had then deleted the message from her phone, and had saved it to his phone as blackmail,” the court documents read.
The messages were discovered last month by the victim’s mother after she bought him a new phone and linked it to his iCloud account, DuPage County prosecutors said.
Formella insisted she was a “good person” in her police interview. Facebook/Christina Formella
Formella allegedly told the victim, “I love having sex with you,” in messages reportedly sent in 2023 when she was 28, court documents show.
“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 reportedly responded to Formella. “I love you so so much mama.”
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Stay up to date on married teacher Christina Formella, accused of molesting boy, 15:
Formella allegedly sent explicit texts that were discovered by the boy’s mother. X/CUCWSOC
The relationship continued until the student broke it off, according to prosecutors.
When the messages were discovered, the mother took her son to Downers Grove police station and reported the alleged abuse.
Formella tied the knot with her boyfriend last August. Facebook/Kathy Formella
Formella was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault, and was released on the condition that she not enter the school grounds or have contact with anybody under 18.
She has also been placed on paid leave from her job.
She attended Concordia University before becoming a teacher. X/CUCWSOCDowners Grove High School in Illinois said Formella had been placed on paid leave. Google Map
Students have been urged to come forward to police or the school if they saw anything dangerous or unusual, and authorities will take “all reports seriously,” Board of Education President Don Renner said on Monday in a statement to the board.
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Formella has denied the allegations against her and insisted she never had sex with the student.
She earned her teaching license in 2017, shortly after leaving Concordia University Chicago, where she and her husband met as student athletes. He played baseball, she played soccer.
Formella had been teaching at Downers Grove High since 2020, according to her LinkedIn.
Formella broke down after she was arrested, according to bodycam footage. DuPage County Sheriff
New bodycam footage shows Formella breaking down in tears during her arrest on March 16, according to a video published by the YouTube channel Ape Huncho.
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she said, as she sobbed into her cuffed hands and pulled her knees up to her chest.
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Formella’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 14.
CHICAGO – A former Illinois teacher living in the United States illegally, who was allegedly involved in a 2024 Tren de Aragua mass shooting that killed three people at a Chicago house party, was arrested by federal authorities, officials said Monday.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with dual citizenship in Italy, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on May 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
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Occhipinti entered the U.S. in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022. She overstayed her visa, DHS said.
On the night of the Dec. 2, 2024, shooting, she allegedly drove the two gunmen—Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno—to the scene of the crime, where five people were injured in addition to the three fatalities, authorities said.
“Although Chicago police arrested this illegal alien shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is doing the job that sanctuary politicians in Illinois refuse to do: putting the American people first and removing these dangerous criminals from our communities.”
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Martinez Cermeno was released from ICE custody in January 2025 after a federal judge determined that federal prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof to keep him incarcerated while awaiting trial.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti | DHS
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Immediately after the shooting, authorities found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle, DHS said. Authorities believe she helped Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno evade law enforcement after the attack.
The Chicago Police Department arrested Occhipinti on Dec. 5, 2024, on charges of unlawful use of weapons and other weapons offenses. However, she was released without ICE ever being notified under Chicago’s sanctuary policies, which protect illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office decided not to prosecute the suspects, DHS said, and Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno were eventually deported.
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“Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti’s actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino. “I’m proud of our agents for pursuing this case to the end, ensuring that everyone who helped facilitate this mass homicide is brought to justice.”
Fox News was told by DHS that Occhipinti was a teacher at an unspecified school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin. Illinois officials have refused to cooperate with federal authorities and will not tell DHS the name of the school, Fox News has learned.
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Occhipinti is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
Read more at FoxNews.com
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(WAND) – The National Weather Service confirmed five tornadoes touched down in central Illinois during Sunday’s storms.
The tornado count for the WAND viewing area, which does not include all of central Illinois, is now at 61 as of June 22.
For reference, the area averages 20 tornadoes annually.
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The NWS confirmed an EF-1 east of Neoga in Cumberland County, along with EF-0 tornadoes southwest of Stewardson in Shelby County and northeast of Toledo, also in Cumberland County.
Additionally, the NWS office in St. Louis confirmed two EF-0 tornadoes south of Shobonier in far southern Fayette County.
CHICAGO (WLS) — The Jimmy Awards honoring “theatre kids” is happening on Monday night in New York City!
Jane Nuich from Park Ridge and Logan Arroyo of Tinley Park will represent Illinois. They’ll be competing against over 100 students from across the nation.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
ABC7’s Hosea Sanders has been following their adventure that leads to a Broadway debut.
When asked if they’ve been intimidated about what’s to come, Arroyo said, “Yes, it’s scary. It’s a scary place, especially putting yourself out there on a stage or alone. I want to be an actor, and I will do whatever I can to do that.”
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Nuich added, “It’s a huge opportunity to work with industry professionals and with so many other talented young people. And you get to experience so much in New York in that short week. And it’s, I think, such a cool experience rather than a big competition.”
Sanders also Arroyo and Nuich what growing up in the Chicago area has done for their exposure and their goals.
“I think the immediate access to all of the theater that Chicago has to offer has been so incredible to me. As a young student of theater and young performer in theater, I think it’s been so educational to me, and so inspiring to be able to anywhere in Chicago in a quick moment from the suburbs to just see so much theater,” Nuich said. “I think it’s so comforting to know you’re surrounded by so many artists who are just as passionate as you. And I think that going into a career in this, it’s so incredible to be exposed to so many young performers who are so talented and passionate as this age.”
Arroyo added, “I’m so excited to be around people I care about and love this as much as I do.”
When asked what previous Illinois Jimmy winners have told the performs, Nuich said, “It goes by really fast, that a lot will happen, but it’s important to stay grounded and to take it all in and realize what a special experience it is, and you just keep working hard.”
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“My big dream is to do what I love and love myself for doing it,” Arroyo said.
