A US special education teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student. Christina Formella, a teacher at Downers Grove South High School, looked shocked when police stopped her car on March 16 and asked her to “grab whatever she needed.” She and her husband seemed confused and were trying to understand the situation.

The officers didn’t reveal the reason initially and informed her that she was under investigation and needed to be taken to the police station in handcuffs. Officers said the 30-year-old was continuously crying, gasping for air, and saying, “I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” reported The NY Post.

This came after the victim’s mother registered a complaint against the teacher.

According to People Magazine, the alleged abuse started in December 2023 when Formella was coaching the boy. The incident came to light last month after the boy’s mother found explicit texts between him and Ms Formella on his phone. 

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said, “The allegations against Ms Formella are extremely disturbing. The type of abuse and behaviour alleged in this case will not be tolerated.”

According to court documents, Formella claimed she was being blackmailed by the boy who accused her because she was “good-looking.” She alleged the boy took her phone without her knowledge and sent a message to himself. Later, he deleted the message from her phone but kept it on his phone to use as blackmail.

She added, “Everybody comes after her because she is good-looking and she is just a good person who cares too much about the boy.”

After being accused of two charges of serious criminal sexual assault, she was released on the condition that she would not be allowed on school property or interact with anyone younger than 18.

She will appear in court on April 14.

Formella obtained her teaching license in 2017 and has been at the school since 2020. She also volunteered as a boys’ and girls’ soccer coach starting in 2021.