Disclaimer: This article has mentions about explicit encounters.
As her legal battle heats up, Christina Formella, the Illinois teacher accused of having multiple s–ual encounters with a 15-year-old student, is now being driven out of her home.
Due to not being able to legally live within 5,000 feet of the boy who accused her, the 30-year-old educator, who filed a not guilty plea to an unbelievable 106 charges of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, and solicitation, has listed her suburban Chicago home for $569,000.
One of the most unsettling cases in DuPage County, Illinois, this year revolves around Formella, who was arrested in March 2025. The student was groomed by her when he was just 14 years old, according to the prosecution, and after he turned 15, the number of sexual encounters increased to about 50. The teen’s mom found explicit text messages on his phone in December 2023, and the alleged incidents are believed to have started at that point, or shortly before that.
Formella, who coached soccer and taught special education at Downers Grove South High, Illinois, was hit with a residency restriction, according to court documents, leaving her three-bedroom, two-bath ranch useless. The judge categorically rejected her legal team’s request to have the buffer zone lowered, referring to the teen’s frequent visits to her neighborhood with friends.
Formella was forced to pack up and relocate, as it turned out.
According to local real estate listings, the 1,430-square-foot home has granite countertops, ceiling-height kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, an LED fireplace, a built-in entertainment wall, and even a hot tub in the backyard. The house, in spite of its glitzy real estate listing, has come to stand for the havoc that her trial has brought about in her personal life. Formella has been living on a golf course with both of her parents since the charges grew worse. She is waiting for trial while wearing an ankle monitor.
Formella’s legal troubles quickly grew after she was first charged with three counts in March.
After Illinois investigators discovered more alleged incidents, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin filed 52 more charges. She was charged with 20 counts of sexual assault, 20 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, six counts of grooming, and six counts of indecent solicitation of a child by the end of the summer, the US Sun reports.
Formella “used her position of trust and authority as a tutor and a coach to s–ually assault a minor student,” Berlin said, calling the allegations against her “extremely disturbing.” Her arrest was recorded on police bodycam footage made public earlier this year. She was panicked as her husband, Michael Formella, who she married not long after the alleged abuse, looked on in shock.
Michael has continued to publicly support her in spite of the scandal, standing by her side during court appearances. He supposedly admitted to detectives that he didn’t know anything about the student beyond the fact that he played soccer.
For her part, Formella continues to argue that the public and investigators are unfairly singling her out due to the way she looks. She once moved the idea of blackmail, saying the teenager got hold of her phone and sent false messages blaming her.
Formella has entered not guilty pleas in all of her cases, and her attorneys are getting ready for trial this fall.
Accused pervert teacher Christina Formella makes high school yearbook despite charges for raping teen https://t.co/eDRuu6MGTw pic.twitter.com/bL7wMDVZnt
— New York Post (@nypost) June 21, 2025
With darker hair and a more reserved manner, as the October trial date gets closer, she was practically unrecognizable when she showed up at her most recent status hearing in Illinois.
For the time being, the once-luxurious suburban house with its well-kept landscaping and cedar deck is just another victim of a case that has shaken the surrounding area and may dictate the rest of her life.
