TEACHER: 'I WILL THROW UP;' STUDENT SEX ABUSE ALLEGED, CLAIMS Framed Bc So 'Good-looking'

Summary

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace — Episode Summary

Title: TEACHER: 'I WILL THROW UP;' STUDENT SEX ABUSE ALLEGED, CLAIMS Framed Bc So 'Good-looking'
Released: April 7, 2025
Host: Nancy Grace
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

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Brief Overview

This episode delves into the case of Christina Formella, a married special education teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove South High School in Illinois, who stands accused of sexually abusing a teen boy student. Nancy Grace and her panel of experts dissect the case, explore police procedures, discuss evidence (especially a damning digital memoir), and scrutinize the defense—which bizarrely includes the claim that Formella was "framed because she's so good-looking."

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime and Arrest (02:07–07:28)

• Christina Formella is introduced as a well-liked teacher and soccer coach whose life crashes when accused of an "alleged sex abuse on a child, a minor that is your student" (Nancy Grace, 02:55).
• The body cam arrest footage is discussed at length, highlighting Formella’s distressed reaction—threatening to vomit, hyperventilating, and crying.
  • Police are described as "overly solicitous," with Nancy and panelists questioning why a suspected child predator is treated so gently (04:41–06:32).
  • Quote: “They were practically still on their honeymoon. They’d only been married less than a year, I believe… She looks like she's straight from hell to me. But you decide.” — Nancy Grace (02:55)

2. Police Procedures and Evidence Handling (04:41–08:35)

• Security expert Brian Fitzgibbons praises the officer's approach in securing Formella's phone, calling it “the number one probative piece of evidence” (05:20).
• Nancy and former police detective Scott Eicher discuss protocol for suspects showing distress—e.g., offering a vomit bag (08:17), but stress that empathy for the suspect is misplaced.

3. Initial Contact and Flirty Messaging (13:36–16:29)

• The panel outlines the origin of the case: a parent discovers explicit messages between Formella and her student while setting up his new iPhone.
• Sydney Sumner: “The boy is rushed down to the police station. He tells officers that this started out as some innocent flirting… through the school messaging app” (14:43).
• The teacher later escalated communication to personal phone numbers and FaceTime calls.
• The sexual abuse allegedly occurred in December 2023, during what was supposed to be a before-school tutoring session in her classroom.

4. Disturbing Digital Memoir (19:01–22:15)

• Police found self-authored “manifestations” and diary entries in Formella’s phone Notes app, referencing the victim and their “relationship.”
  • Example: "I'm not sad. I'm fing mad that I let a 16 year old f with me like that… We both lost." (20:07, read aloud)
  • Another: “We will be in each other's lives forever. We will be able to love each other while also living our own lives.” (22:30)
• Sexual grooming expert Anna Tsunoda reacted: “This is no girl. This is a full grown 30 year old woman who abused her position of power… My question would be, how many others are there?” (21:30)

5. Defense Tactics and Their Flaws (32:34–35:37)

• Formella's claim: She was "framed" by the teenager, who allegedly sent himself flirty messages from her unlocked phone for future blackmail.
• Defense attorney Eric Faddis speculates that the memoir’s sexual content might refer to her husband, not the teen, but Nancy Grace is deeply skeptical.
  • Quote: “So what, what did you just say? That, that everything is about the teen boy except… when she's talking about sex and then that's about the husband in the same paragraph.” — Nancy Grace (34:46)

6. Comparisons to Past Cases and Gender Bias (43:28–49:01)

• The Mary Kay Letourneau case is referenced as a parallel example.
• Dr. Sherry Schwartz discusses double standards: “If this were reversed and the alleged abuser was a man and the victim was a 15 year old little girl, he would be under the jail. Why the difference? ...This is a crime.” (48:44–49:32)

7. "Too Good Looking for Jail"? (45:54–47:20)

• Clips of other convicted teachers (e.g., Debra LaFave) are played, highlighting the "too pretty for jail" defense.
• Sydney Sumner confirms, “Her whole defense...is again, relying on that blackmail idea...And she says that that happened because she cared about him too much and she is good looking. So she claims she is a good person who just maybe got a little bit too close to a student, but she did not rape him, and she is only being targeted because she is so pretty.” (46:45–47:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "After I learned about this case and investigated it myself. I want to throw up, too." – Nancy Grace (02:55)
• “You mean she's not sorry she did it. She just doesn't want to go to hell for it.” – Nancy Grace (08:35)
• "Who is this woman? Christina Formella." – Nancy Grace (13:36)
• “This should be a trusted relationship. And the school said it perfectly. It's broken trust." – Sydney Sumner (17:31)
• “This is grooming. This looks like flattery, favoritism, forbidden fruit. You entice a young boy with the possibility of sexual contact." — Anna Tsunoda (42:30)
• “Lady justice does not make a note of whether the victim is a little boy or a little girl… The defendant, the alleged victim, 15. Let's think about that.” — Nancy Grace (49:32)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:07] — Nancy Grace introduces the crime and charges
• [04:41] — Analysis of police handling of Formella and seizure of her phone
• [06:49] — Body cam footage: Formella threatens to throw up
• [13:36] — The digital trail & discovery of messages by the victim’s mother
• [14:43] — Communications escalate from messaging app to FaceTime and texting
• [19:01] — Panel discusses her digital "manifestations" and disturbing diary entries
• [21:30] — Expert analysis of grooming and power dynamics
• [32:34] — Dissection of the “I was framed” defense
• [43:28] — Comparing to Mary Kay Letourneau; expert view on gender bias
• [45:54] — “Too pretty for jail” defense; panel debunks the idea
• [49:32] — Nancy Grace closes by affirming the seriousness of the crime

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Tone and Language

Nancy Grace adopts her trademark, hard-charging prosecutorial tone—deeply skeptical of the defense and unsparing in her descriptions of Formella's actions. Panelists run the gamut from clinical (psychologists, social workers) to legalistic (detectives, attorneys), but all express revulsion and concern for the exploited child. There is a clear emphasis on the necessity of recognizing and responding to sexual abuse regardless of gender or appearance stereotypes.

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Summary Takeaways

• Allegations & Evidence: Formella is alleged to have groomed and assaulted a teen boy student, with extensive digital evidence including incriminating messages and diary-style confessions.
• Defense: Claims of being framed due to her looks and a supposed blackmail attempt by the student are widely discredited by experts and undermined by her own writings.
• Digital Forensics: Phone and cloud data are pivotal—experts note technical ways to disprove the framing claim.
• Societal Context: Discussion of gender bias in abuse cases; the need for equal prosecution regardless of stereotypes.
• Conclusion: Nancy Grace and her experts emphasize the role of diligent parents and investigators in uncovering abuse and condemn attempts to glamourize or rationalize predatory behavior.

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Listeners come away with a clear grasp of both the evidence and the sociocultural issues at play, sharply focused on the principle that justice must be impartial—and that abuse by those in positions of trust is both a crime and a betrayal.

Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an I Heart podcast.

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

Your friends can trust Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A married special education teacher threatens I'll throw up. Busted on sex abuse with a teen boy. Now claiming, wait for it. That she has been framed because she's so good looking. Her words, not mine. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.

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Christina Formella is a Concordia University grad and former soccer team star. Now she's a special ed teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove High School in Illinois. But Formella's world comes crashing down when a dark secret is revealed at a routine traffic stop.

[Nancy Grace]

A dark secret? I don't know that I would call a alleged sex abuse on a child a minor that is your student. I don't know that I would call that a secret. I think more appropriately, I would call it A felony. But caught on tape. The married special ed teacher. For Pete's sake. They were practically still on their honeymoon. They'd only been married less than a year, I believe. Caught on body cam threatening to throw up. Well, after I learned about this case and investigated it myself. I want to throw up, too. But let's take a look. A lot of people have claimed she is so called glamorous special ed teacher. She's not glamorous to me. I have prosecuted so many child rape and child sex abuse cases. She looks like she's straight from hell to me. But you decide. Let's watch what was caught on police body cam.

[Police Officer]

Hey, how you doing?

[Christina Formella]

Hi, Officer.

[Police Officer]

Go with Downer's girl. Do you have your license on you?

[Nancy Grace]

Yes.

[Sydney Sumner]

Tonight?

[Police Officer]

Yeah, I'm going to explain. I'm sure you're confused. I'll explain to you. Double doors. You're Christina. Okay, Christina, do me a favor. Can you step out of the car for me? I know you're confused. I'll explain everything to you. You don't have anything on you.

[Nancy Grace]

Just.

[Police Officer]

You can just grab whatever you need.

[Sydney Sumner]

Whatever I need?

[Police Officer]

Yeah, whatever you need. Like your phone, your purse. Go and grab it. Is she going somewhere? Yeah, we're gonna explain everything to you guys. Go ahead and grab out. We're not going anywhere right now. Of course, of course. Yeah. I don't understand what's going on here. I get it. Yeah. You can go grab your things.

[Sydney Sumner]

Can he come with me?

[Police Officer]

Yes, yes. You stay there. Right. For right now. Is there to stay there, but yes, you can.

[Nancy Grace]

Uh, straight out to Brian Fitzgibbons joining us. Director Operations, USPA Nationwide security, leading a team of investigators every single day. Why are they being so solicitous to her? She is charged with molesting a minor, a teen boy. And I believe, still lying about it, claiming it only happened once. Okay, but that said Fitzgibbons. What happened to license, registration? What? Why are they saying. I'm sure you're confused. I'll explain everything. You're Christina. What are they on a first name basis?

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

So here's the deal, Nancy. I believe that that police officer actually did a very excellent job with this contact with Christina Formella. Number one, he secured that cell phone, which is going to be a key piece of evidence in this case. And he got that without from her. So he de. Escalated the situation and secured the cell phone, which is going to be the number one probative piece of evidence here.

[Nancy Grace]

Put this Gibbons up. Fitzgibbons, I actually agree with you. I Agree with you. However, I believe they're being overly solicitous to what police say, what prosecutors say is a child molester. Fitz Gibbons, you're not bending over backwards for. For Christina Fromella because she's att, are you? You know, it has been argued in the past by other teachers now convicted of child abuse that they were too pretty for jail. You're not on that boat, are you?

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Certainly not, Nancy. What I saw there was the officer doing everything to make sure he preserved that key piece of evidence. I think he knew exactly what he was doing here and was.

[Nancy Grace]

You're right. Let's take a look at Christina Formella, special ed teacher, now charged with child sex abuse with a student, a teen boy, just married, by the way. Oh, here. She threatens to throw up.

[Police Officer]

Seat belts on, unless. Are you able to reach it down there? You don't want a tissue or something?

[Sydney Sumner]

I have a feeling I'm going to.

[Nancy Grace]

Throw up a bag.

[Police Officer]

All right. Shauna, can you grab like, a bag out of there?

[Sydney Sumner]

Actually, a driver don't have to.

[Police Officer]

Hey, can you get like, a bag just in case she gets nauseous? Yeah, I don't know. Do we have any of those MSS bags, like, laying around the spot? I figure she something better than nothing.

[Christina Formella]

Or.

[Police Officer]

Here, you stay with her.

[Sydney Sumner]

I'll go grab.

[Nancy Grace]

I think I'm going to hyperventilate right now watching her. Hold on just a moment. To Scott Eicher joining me. He's joining us later regarding a cell phone analysis. But he was the founding member, a founding member of the FBI cellular analysis survey team. But for this question, former police officer, homicide detective with Norfolk, Virginia Police Department, 12 years. Scott, I thought they were being again, overly solicitous to her, going, you need a tissue? Do you need a vomit bag? But I assume you've been in the back of a cruiser before, Scott Eicher.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Well, I've been in the back of a cruiser, but not in her position. You can see what is starting to come over her. She's starting to realize what she's done and she's been caught. And that would make me nauseous, too, if I was in her position. And I can see.

[Nancy Grace]

Well put. You mean she's not sorry she did it. She just doesn't want to go to hell for it. I was getting to the vomit bag. They have to work in that cruiser. I have been there when patrol men and patrol women have to literally hose out the back seat of a cruiser. There's drugs, there's vomit, there's Urine. There's feces, there's spit where they try to spit at the officers. The back seat is like hazmat to the max. So that's why I believe they're offering her a vomit bag. You know, like the kind you get on a plane.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Oh, I definitely agree. And I've had to clean out my cruiser numerous times for those same reasons you talked about. And that smell never goes away. I swear. The back of the cruisers, no, it.

[Nancy Grace]

Never, ever goes away. Cops drive with the windows down. It doesn't help. Joining me, an all star panel to make sense of what we're learning right now. But I want to see that body cam one more time. Now you see her threatening to throw up. Up. You see her seemingly hyperventilating, crying. Let's listen to it one more time.

[Police Officer]

Are you able to reach it down there? You don't want a tissue or something?

[Sydney Sumner]

I have a feeling I'm gonna throw up a bag.

[Police Officer]

All right. Shauna, can you grab, like, a bag out of there? Hey, can you get, like, bag just in case she gets nauseous? Yeah, I don't know. Do we have any of those MSS bags, like, laying around the spot? I figure she was something better than nothing. Here, you stay with her. I'll go gr.

[Nancy Grace]

Eric Fatis. Really?

[Eric Faddis]

Well, Nancy, in looking at her reaction there, one could argue it is consistent with someone who was just caught for something they did. On the other hand, when you look at it, she's confused, she's hyperventilating, she's crying, she's saying she's nauseous. All of those things could also be consistent with someone who has been accused of something horrendous and who didn't do it. So I'm not sure we could really draw any firm conclusions from that video.

[Nancy Grace]

Fatis. She hasn't been told yet of what she is accused, so that argument just went right down. Technical legal phrase, the crapper. Okay, so she's not hyperventilating because they just told her what she's accused of. She hasn't been told yet. So take another swing at the ball.

[Eric Faddis]

Even if she wasn't apprised of the exact nature of the allegations, being in the back of a cop car is distressing. Surely. And even more so if a person did not do anything criminal and they're, you know, sort of befuddled about what in the world is happening to me, you know, I'm not taking a personal position on the facts, but I'm just saying that reaction has multiple interpretations.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay. Even if she had been at that juncture told why she was arrested. You still are standing by your story.

[Eric Faddis]

I'm just saying in terms of a human reaction to a very distressing situation that can be interpreted multiple ways. And those expressions that we're seeing, those, those outward behaviors are consistent with someone who has been caught for doing something horrible. And they're also consistent with someone who is being, you know, accused of something she didn't do. And so I just think at this juncture there's just going to be drawn.

[Nancy Grace]

Eric Faddis question if you had been accused of child molestation, because I'm not quite sure in this series of body cam reactions where she knows she's been accused and where she doesn't. If you've been accused of child molestation, you wouldn't say, I've never done that in my life. That did not happen. I want a lawyer. You wouldn't say that.

[Eric Faddis]

Me personally, as a seasoned attorney, I absolutely would say that. But you know, a 30 year old special education teacher and soccer coach, perhaps that is just not front of mind to her.

[Nancy Grace]

You're acting like she's a 12 year old little girl in the fifth grade that's never seen Law and Order. You're saying, oh, she's just 30 years old special ed teacher. To be a special ed teacher, you have to go to four years of school, four years of college, plus all sorts of certifications. This is an educated person that's been out in the workforce for years. But you're telling me she's so naive, she doesn't know to say, I didn't do that. I want a lawyer.

[Eric Faddis]

The thing is, Nancy, that there's no playbook for how to respond when a person is accused of something horrible. Some people might react one way, whereas others might react a different way. And I'm just, you know, in looking at this without some sort of psychological evaluation, it's just hard to say exactly where that reaction is coming from.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, who is this woman? Christina Formella.

[Sydney Sumner]

Listen, Christina Formella is a special education teacher and soccer coach at Downers Grove South High School. A Proud Mustang since 2020, Formella graduated from Concordia University three years earlier as an accomplished student athlete, playing as a starter in 49 soccer matches during her college career. That's where Christina meets her now husband, also a student athlete, a pitcher on the baseball team for Christina's senior year, they share the number 22. The happy couple ties the knot in a gorgeous summer ceremony. August of 2024.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to Crime Stories, investigative reporter Sydney Sumner Sydney, tell me how the whole thing unfolded. What is she charged with? How did the whole thing start? Is it true? According to police, these are all just allegations. She has not been proven guilty. She's still presumed innocent under the law. According to police, she began flirting with a teen boy, one of her students, and that continued on a school app?

[Sydney Sumner]

That's correct, Nancy. So a mother of a Downers Grove student went to police when she was setting up his new iPhone. She discovered these messages that weren't saved on his old phone, but to his icloud account. And she discovered these messages seemingly discussing a sexual encounter with his teacher, Christina Formella. So the boy is rushed down to the police station. He tells officers that this started out as some innocent flirting. I say the word innocent, but that's obviously not innocent in this situation, but some flirting over the school messaging app. So the school has their own specific messaging system, and that's where they started communicating wants. Christina Formella became this boy's tutor in addition to being his soccer coach on the field. So these messages then progress to having her phone number because she wanted to play an imessage game with him. So she gives out her phone number.

[Nancy Grace]

Sydney, Sydney, wait a minute. So the teacher wants to play what?

[Sydney Sumner]

You know, those games in your imessages. So on an iPhone, you can start a text conversation and play pool ball or something. So that's what she suggested to this teen boy and gave him her phone number. So now they're texting and also FaceTiming. There's records of numerous FaceTime calls in between this teen and the teacher. And he said that culminated in a rape in December of 2023 during what should have been a before school tutoring session. So they're in her classroom, she shuts the door, and there is a sexual encounter.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, Sydney, I don't like what you just said. You remind me of so many defendants that would say we would. I had one judge who was the greatest judge ever, oldest judge in the courthouse. And therefore, he wanted to maintain his court calendar. He wanted to be on trial every other week to prove he was fit. And he was fit all right, doctor. I mean, Judge Luther Alverson. But we would have plea negotiations with me, my investigator, Ernest the defendant, and his defense lawyer to see if the case could be worked out. FYI, it usually went to trial. That said, the lawyer and the defendant would always act like, Ms. Grace, I caught a little burglary charge. Like, somebody threw it, and they just caught it. Okay, you just said she shuts the door and A child molestation happened. Didn't you leave something out, Sidney Sumner?

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, Nancy. We're calling that a rape. That's exactly what it is. It's a statutory rape, at least and at most it is a sexual assault. This woman, this adult should never have come onto this child in any way, shape or form, especially a teacher. This is a professional relationship. This should be a trusted relationship. And the school said it perfectly. It's broken trust.

[Police Officer]

Right back over here. So we do have an investigation going on. We have to talk to you about it at the police department. Okay, so we're explaining everything to you there. It's not my investigation. I don't know the full details. Would you have to bring me there though? Okay, so I do have to put you in handcuffs and bring it to the police department. Just a dinner. Yes, unfortunately, yes.

[Sydney Sumner]

I'm like willing to go with you.

[Police Officer]

I get it. Yeah, unfortunately we have to do it that way. Let's do a favor. We just take this off.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining me in all star panel to make sense of what we are learning tonight, a according to some people, gorgeous 30 year old special ed teacher and soccer coach busted on alleged underage sex. Translation rape. If you are underage, you cannot give consent. Also a student, a teen boy student. Is it true, Sidney Sumner, that she also kept a memoir of sorts? A memoir detailing the sex sex with a teen boy student?

[Sydney Sumner]

Nancy? That is correct. Though there are reports of this notes app material. So these are several writings in her notes app. One section titled manifestations is saying things out loud in the hopes that the more you say them, the more they will happen. And several writings in this section reference the victim.

[Nancy Grace]

What did you just say? The more you say something, the more likely it's going to happen.

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, Nancy, this is a mantra, it's called manifestation that many young people participate in nowadays.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, I've heard of manifestation. I didn't think anyone actually thought it worked, but okay. So I want you to hear what we've learned about her memoir that she kept in the notes section on her iPhone. I hate to give a tutorial to all the future felons out there, but when you basically make a to do list and recount all of your felonious activities on your iPhone. Yeah, you're gonna get busted. But you've got to hear this.

[Christina Formella]

Listen, I'm not sad. I'm d mad that I let a 16 year old with me like that and an ATA promise to myself that I will never let any guy d with me like that again ever. In the end we both lost. You lost the girl who would have stuck with you through thick and thin, who would have changed anything about herself to make you happy. And I lost the person I was before I met you.

[Nancy Grace]

What is she talking about? Wait a minute. Whoa, whoa. I definitely need to shrink. But first, to Anna Sonoda joining a child sex abuse grooming expert, clinical social worker, therapist and author of Duck Duck Groom. Do you hear her? This is the woman, the grown married woman, claiming quote, I'm not sad, I am effing mad. I let a 16 year old confession eff with me like that. And I made a promise to myself. I will never let any guy f with me like that again. Ever. Did she put a bunch of exclamations with hearts at the bottom? I don't know. In the end, we both lost.

[Eric Faddis]

What?

[Nancy Grace]

You lost the girl who would have stuck with you through thick and thin, who would have changed anything about herself to make you happy. What? Get a divorce and go back in time to. Well, she was a minor too. And I lost the person I was before I met you. What is she talking about? Anna Tsunoda.

[Anna Tsunoda]

This is no girl. This is a full grown 30 year old woman who abused her position of power. She groomed this young victim. And something I want to highlight here is that predators run on gas. What does that mean? That means you need to have grooming access and space. So she groomed this boy using flattery, kindness and highlighting him as her selected target. And she gained access in her role as a tutor, as a coach, as a teacher. And then what available space did she have? She had an empty classroom before school started. She had isolated time with this young victim. My question would be, how many others are there?

[Nancy Grace]

She's acting like she's got a future with this little boy. Okay, where does her husband fit into this scenario, much less the police. But I want you to hear more of what we have learned in her own memoirs on her own cell phone.

[Christina Formella]

Listen is going to reach out to me soon and try to fix things between us. In the meantime, I'm going to live my best life knowing he's not the person I thought he was and that he is beneath me. And I will connect again soon in a positive way. We will both get the closure we need in order to move on. In a healthy way, we will be able to be a part of each other's lives forever. We will be in each other's lives forever. We will be able to love each other while also living our own lives.

[Nancy Grace]

What a wackadoodle. We will be in each other's lives forever. In caps. We will be in each other's lives forever. Yes, you will. When he and his mommy show up to keep you out from getting parole. So that's a long time in the future. That's something for you to think about.

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace Sydney Sumner. Is this her manifesting again? Victim is going to reach out to me soon and try to fix things between us. In the meantime, I'm going to live my best life knowing he's not the person I thought he was and he is beneath me. He is a little boy. What is she saying?

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, Nancy. So these are her manifestations. A 30 year old teacher is manifesting wishes about a teen student. So not her husband. Not wanting to further her career. Not wanting to become a better teacher or a better coach or a better wife. But she wants this teenage boy to reconcile with her. That's what's going through her mind every night.

[Nancy Grace]

As I mentioned earlier, we all need a shrink right about now. Joining us, Dr. Sherry Schwartz, forensic psychologist specializing in this line of [e-mail] and she is an author as well. Criminal Behavior and my favorite, where law and psychology intersect. Dr. Sherry Schwartz, thank you for being with us. What is she talking about? Do you hear this? We will in all caps be in each other's lives forever. We will be able to love each other while living our own lives. We need to move forward in a healthy way. That ship has sailed. Dr. Sherry. Correct.

[Sydney Sumner]

And what I see, what I'm hearing is something that's very dark. Sexual predators need to keep their victims close, particularly when their victims are minor children. This is her manifestation is I don't want to get caught. So I need to keep him close. I need him to believe that we're in love and we're this YouTube unique couple and we're gonna go forward together forever. What?

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In addition to the text messages, police also find several writings in Formella's notes app discussing her relationship with the victim, naming him directly. Formella pens what looks like a breakup letter calling the victim disgusting for cheating on her. Formella claims the victim manipulated her into maintaining their relationship despite her attempts to break it off. Formella says she now realizes the victim was only interested in her for sex and notes that she is angry that she allowed a 16 year old to mess with her head.

[Sydney Sumner]

Am I in trouble Like, I'm.

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I'm so lost right now.

[Sydney Sumner]

I'm.

[Police Officer]

I'm sure you are. Like I said, I can't answer any question right now other than just to tell you that right now you're being detained for an investigation. And we're bringing you to the police department. And once you get there, they're going to fill you in on everything.

[Nancy Grace]

Am I in trouble? Yeah, you are. Now, one of the most damning pieces of evidence the state has is her. Christina Framella, 30 year old married special ed teacher. That starts, quote, flirty messages. That's not how I would put it. I would call entice it a minor. But that said, flirty messages over the school app. I see my children on the school app all the time. I have personally met every one of their teachers since they were in pre. Pre. Pre K. You think this mom had any idea what was happening? H E double L, N O. But you hear from Ella talking as if she has somehow been, quote, done wrong. As a matter of fact, her memoir that she wrote on her notes app in her phone. You have to hear this.

[Christina Formella]

Listen, I once again from day one, called your next girlfriend. You're so f. Predictable and disgusting. Shocker. You cheated on me with her. All I was to you was somebody to f. I'm not upset. I'm not mad. I'm not any of that. I've just lost interest. I went back and screenshotted every single time that I said we should break up until after the wedding and after you graduated. And every single f ing time you came back and convinced me it would be fine. I initiated every single breakup only for you to end things saying you couldn't get over it. You ruined us.

[Nancy Grace]

Us. You ruined us like they have a future, like they're going to get married. Sidney Sonner, explain to me what she wrote. Did she actually say she wanted to, quote, break up with the little boy after the wedding?

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, she did, Nancy. She explained that in very good detail for prosecutors in the future as this case goes to trial. She specifically mentioned both this teen boy's graduation and her own wedding, once again establishing that timeline that the rape occurred In December of 2023, almost a year before her wedding. So she references this victim by name multiple times and in his breakup. In this breakup letter, what this reads as with the teen boy, she also references his new girlfriend's name. So lots of context to establish that this note is about the victim.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to veteran trial lawyer, defense attorney Eric Faddis. You mentioned earlier correctly that the defendant, the Special ed teacher Christina Fromella claims the boy, the little boy grabbed her phone, put in her code and sent himself flirty and sex related messages that he, a little boy, had the wherewithal to think that he would frame her for future blackmail. Now she's already put that out there, so you, the defense attorney, are stuck with it. You can't just erase that that's out there. So you can't now look for another defense. You're stuck with her words. Let's just pretend that that's true, that the boy thought, hey, a year from now I'm going to try to blackmail her and frame her. So I'm going to send her texts from her to me that I can then say, all right, that's a flight of fancy. But Eric Faddis, what about her memoir? What about the notes on her iPhone where she talks about how angry she is, he got a new quote, girlfriend and their future. You know, the. She claims they only had sex, AKA raped him one time, but this shows they have been an item for a long time, since before her wedding.

[Eric Faddis]

Nancy, the multiplicity of messages here, if authentic, is surely problematic. You know, the defense is going to say that at this day and age, 16 year olds are pretty technologically savvy. Some of them are more sophisticated than others, and then on the other hand, sometimes they do irrational, erratic, weird things. And perhaps all of that culminated in this alleged act where he tried to text him from her phone to sort of blackmail her. That's what the defense is going to argue when it comes to the memoir. I think the defense is going to say that there's some murmurs about, at least according to Formella, that that references to sexual activity in the memoirs actually relate to the husband and not to the 15 year old child.

[Nancy Grace]

So what, what did you just say? That, that everything is about the teen boy except. Except when she's talking about sex and then that's about the husband in the same paragraph.

[Eric Faddis]

That is what the defense has reported. That is what I've read in reports in terms of what is being referenced in these memoirs, the allegation is that this was kind of an outlet for her anxiety is how she put it, I believe. And sometimes people write stuff down and sometimes there's overlap and ideas get conflated and perhaps that is the direction her defense will go to try to explain what is in this memoir as it compares to the text messages on the icloud server.

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[Nancy Grace]

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Brian Fitzgibbons joining US, Director Operations, USPA nationwide [e-mail] Brian, can we believe anything Christina Formella says? You have the text messages back and forth between her and the child victim. You have her memoir and then you have her and the ability she possesses to put on an Oscar worthy performance. I want you to watch this. Yes. Brian, can I ask you what.

[Police Officer]

Of course, of course. Yeah. It's not like I said, it's not my investigation. Obviously we are here for a reason. So go ahead and turn around for me. So right now he's just being detained and there is detective that needs to talk to you at the police department. So we'll let if your husband, he can just come to the police department as well if he wants to wait for you there. I'm like, I get it, you had a lot of questions.

[Sydney Sumner]

So scared.

[Police Officer]

Yeah, everything's okay. We just need to talk to you at the police store, that's all.

[Nancy Grace]

I am like so scared. That's nothing that can hold a candle to what this boy's mother felt when she saw those messages saved in the icloud. Brian.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Certainly. And you said it well, Nancy, that the defense has already put out this conspiracy theory that the teen boy was texting himself from her phone. And they're gonna have to produce evidence that supports that.

[Police Officer]

All right?

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Data from the boy's cell phone data, other data from her phone from other minor witnesses that would have seen or heard about this conspiracy. So I don't think we can believe much of what she's saying right here.

[Police Officer]

Once you get to the police department, you'll talk to the detective and he'll explain everything to you.

[Christina Formella]

But you can't even give me like.

[Police Officer]

An idea at the moment. Other than that it's an investigation. That's all I can really tell you right now. I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you more.

[Christina Formella]

Excuse me. Is my husband coming with?

[Police Officer]

Yes. Yeah, he's taking his phone number down. We're staying in touch with him. We're just going to downer Grove the so 10 minutes away.

[Sydney Sumner]

No, I know, but I really would.

[Nancy Grace]

Prefer that my husband's with me.

[Police Officer]

Of course.

[Nancy Grace]

May want to rethink that about how your husband learns his wife is charged with sex abusing a boy student. Back to evidentiary issues. I want you to hear one more excerpt from Christina Frimela, the special ed teacher's memoirs she wrote in her own iPhone.

[Christina Formella]

Listen, I warned you we should have never started dating a long, long, long time ago. And you gaslit me and convinced me it was fine. Every single time. Because that's who you are. We will never, ever be together again. I'm not a second choice. I'm the best thing you'll ever have. Even with all my mistakes, you once again waited and strung me along until it was convenient for you. It broke me last time. This time it changed me.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, Anna Sonoda, I don't know if you have encountered other child molesters that believe they have a relationship with the child, but that's what this sounds like.

[Anna Tsunoda]

I'm having to hold my tongue over here. Nancy. She is working so hard to justify her own actions, which is classic predator behavior.

[Sydney Sumner]

Dating.

[Anna Tsunoda]

She has the audacity to use the word dating. There is no way this is anywhere near dating. This is grooming. This looks like flattery, favoritism, forbidden fruit. You entice a young boy with the possibility of sexual contact. That doesn't mean that he was the mastermind behind her plan. I am just shocked. But I do want to pinpoint some exceptionally positive things about this case. The mom in this case needs a gold medal. She checked the cell phone information, she followed up. She then reported it to police and the police investigated and it led to an arrest. That is a best case scenario. Unfortunately, that's a rarity in these sorts of cases. But those individuals deserve recognition for acting on that child's best behalf.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, this is bringing to mind another case of Mary K. Letourneau, who continued to molest Vili Folau. I believe at that time he was about 12 years old. Years passed, and when she got out of jail, they actually got married and had a family.

[Police Officer]

Listen, for anybody first time figuring out what love is for the first time, you know, that's all you know. So for what I know that it was back then, yeah, I would say that, that that was real love.

[Nancy Grace]

That from our friends at News 7 Again, Vili Folau was 12 years old when she began raping him. They went on to have a family together. In this case, it sounds as if Formella believes the two have a future together. Let me go to Scott Eicher joining us. Founding member, FBI Cellular Analysis survey team, former police officer, homicide detective as well. I want to talk to you about the defense. And we heard Faddis trying to explain it amazingly with a straight face. Scott Eichor, how or can we prove that the boy did not send the messages from her phone to himself to frame her or to use as blackmail at some unknown future date. Is that possible?

[Police Officer]

It is.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

There's several different ways you can validate this information or disprove what the defendant is saying. We've got the records from the phone company. We've got the extraction information from the phone. We've got the school app that you're talking about. We also can look at in the specific part which you mentioned, which is, did he send messages from her phone? We can look at where their two phones were at the time. Was his phone in the same location as hers? That might indicate that he sent those text messages from her phone. But if he's somewhere else, there's no way he could have sent those messages. So there's a lot of different ways we can look at this and tear that defense apart. And it's not really easy to break into someone's phone, then go through their app and then copy that and then send it to someone else.

[Police Officer]

Sure you don't want a tissue or something?

[Sydney Sumner]

I have a feeling I'm going to.

[Nancy Grace]

Throw up a bag.

[Christina Formella]

Yes, please.

[Police Officer]

All right, take. Shauna, can you grab, like, a bag out of there?

[Sydney Sumner]

Possibly.

[Police Officer]

I drove her.

[Nancy Grace]

We are learning that the special ed teacher turned child molestation defendant is claiming she's too, quote, good looking for jail and that she has been targeted because she's so pretty. Not the first time I've heard that argument. So why do you think you got all the attention?

[Police Officer]

I don't know.

[Nancy Grace]

I'll say it.

[Police Officer]

Do you think it's because you're pretty?

[Christina Formella]

I think so. And sex sells.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, that's my friends at NBC. And you were hearing Deborah LaFave, convicted for molesting a student, claim she was targeted because she is, quote, so pretty. Okay, Sydney Sumner, is that claim being made in the current case by Christina Formella?

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, it is, Nancy. So her whole defense to this is again, relying on that blackmail idea that this teenage boy broke into her phone, sent these text messages to himself to make it look like there was a conversation between the two of them. And she says that that happened because she cared about him too much. And she is good looking. So she claims she is a good person who just maybe got a little bit too close to a student, but she did not rape him, and she is only being targeted because she is so pretty.

[Nancy Grace]

Sydney. She is also claiming that the, quote, sex translation rape only occurred one time. But according to the text messages and her own notes, in her note area of her iPhone show that a relationship lasted for a really long time and she wanted it to go on. Except the little boy got a girlfriend his own age.

[Sydney Sumner]

So Nancy, the defendant, Formella, she is claiming that they did not have sex in any way, shape or form. She is claiming that that text message exchange was not discussing something that happened, but was blackmailed to try and rope her into having sex with him in the future. The victim told police that the encounter in December of 2023, that rape is the only encounter between them. So that's what the victim told police. But again, this victim got caught by his mother in an embarrassing situation. So is he telling the full truth? Because if he had any kind of romantic feelings for this woman, for his teacher, he likely does not want to see her go down the same way Billy Folau did. So it is 100% possible that this abuse was much more extensive and ongoing than police realize.

[Nancy Grace]

Is she out on bond?

[Sydney Sumner]

Yes, she is.

[Nancy Grace]

To Dr. Sherry Schwartz, joining us, forensic psychologists. You know, if this were reversed and the alleged abuser was a man and the victim was a 15 year old little girl, he would be under the jail. Why the difference?

[Sydney Sumner]

Well, the difference is because there's a stereotype that because this is a teenage boy, that this is their family. So somehow it's not as serious or troubling a crime when it's an older woman with a teenage boy, especially a pretty older woman. But this is false. We know that the harm is the same. Regardless, this is a minor child. She had an obligation to behave ethically and adhere to boundaries. She never should have crossed a boundary.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, lady justice is blind for a reason. Crossing boundaries, yes. Unethical, yes. But as a former prosecutor of violent felonies, it's not just crossing boundaries. It's not just unethical. This is a crime. Lady justice does not make a note of whether the victim is a little boy or a little girl or whether the defendant is a stereotypical child molester, stalking a playground and a traffic trench coat and a pair of socks. Or a pretty young special ed teacher, age 30. The defendant, the alleged victim, 15. Let's think about that. We stopped to remember an American hero. Detective Clarence Backhurst, Palm Beach County Sheriff's detective. Backhorns, U.S. marine Corps vet, 26 years with law enforcement. Survived by wife Becky, children Kathy, Clarence, Dennis, Cammie and Kelly. American hero. Detective Clarence Backhoms. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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[Anna Tsunoda]

Night.

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[Nancy Grace]

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