Alleged dirty teacher Christina Formella claims she’s the victim of misogynistic “sexist scrutiny” and bemoaned being painted as a “predator” — even as prosecutors say evidence shows she sexually abused a student dozens of times over a monthslong affair that didn’t stop until the teen spoke up.
“It’s a spectacle — a public ritual that punishes women not for what they’ve done, but for how they’re perceived,” a rep for Formella’s family told The Post in a statement Thursday.
“When men face accusations, we discuss evidence and procedure. When women face accusations, we attack their character, their choices, and their worth as human beings,” they added. “This isn’t justice — it’s gender-based persecution disguised as accountability.”
Formella, a 30-year-old special education teacher and soccer coach at Illinois’ Downers Grove High School, is accused of grooming a 14-year-old student and having sex with him at least 50 times after he turned 15. The teacher was 28-years-old when the alleged affair began, and prosecutors said a majority of the sexual encounters happened at the school.
Prosecutors say dozens of text messages support the claims — including a message she allegedly sent the boy saying “I love having sex with you” — and prove Formella was an obsessive abuser who was planning to rip-off her husband’s family for millions and run off with the teen.
But Formella’s camp says she is being targeted because of the way she looks and because she is a woman.
“Instead of discussing facts or law, public discourse fixates on Christina’s appearance, her private life, even her lipstick — as if those details bear on guilt or innocence,” the statement said.
“Christina has been splintered into internet caricatures — ‘predator,’ ‘unfaithful wife,’ ‘hypocrite,’” the family spokesperson complained.
The coverage of Formella’s alleged crime has turned into “real-world stalking,” her family said, explaining she’s been tailed by “so-called content creators” when she goes out, and even been followed into church, “violating the sanctity of worship and terrorizing her family.”
“Christina’s case isn’t being ‘covered’ — she’s being hunted,” the statement said, adding that Formella has become the victim of “bullying.”
“Reckless speculation, misinformation, and theatrical coverage do nothing to serve justice and set hard-won respect for women back decades,” the statement concluded.
Formella was arrested in March after the alleged victim’s mother discovered a trove of text messages on his phone where the two allegedly discussed having sex at least 45 times in classrooms, and even several encounters at the marital home she shared with her husband.
She allegedly expressed undying love for the boy, and after they broke up she allegedly penned a series of torrid diary entries on her phone blaming the teenager for her emotional turmoil — but also expressed hope that they would still spend their lives together.
The alleged grooming and affair began around 2023 and continued through her engagement, ending only after the boy called it off in September — weeks after she married her college sweetheart, Michael Formella.
Michael told investigators he had no idea about any affair after his wife was arrested, while Christina claimed she was being blackmailed because she was nice and “good looking.”
The husband has stood by her since the arrest, joining his wife hand-in-hand for each of her hearings so far. Her in-laws have even joined Formella at several of her appearances.
Formella was released from custody with an ankle monitor, and has been ordered to stay 5,000 feet from the alleged teen victim.
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