Ex-teacher and boyfriend indicted on 39 child sex charges; she confessed to abusing 5-year-old at his direction, cops say

A Texas ex-substitute teacher and her boyfriend were indicted on a combined 39 child sex crime charges earlier this month stemming from sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl, according to multiple reports.

Madison Paige Jones, 30, was indicted on 19 criminal charges, including 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by exposure, one count of indecency with a child sexual contact, and one count of possession with intent to promote child pornography, according to court records.

'She told officers that Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship and that she had concerns with Dondlinger’s behavior toward a 5-year-old child in Jones’ home.'

On the same day, Jones' 37-year-old boyfriend, Zackery Dondlinger, was indicted on 20 criminal charges, including 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, three counts of indecency with a child by exposure, two counts of indecency with a child sexual contact, one count of sexual performance by a child, and one count of possession with intent to promote child pornography.

According to jail records, Jones and Dondlinger are being held at the Wayne McCollum Detention Center in Waxahachie. Their combined bonds total nearly $9 million — $5 million for Dondlinger and $3,840,000 for Jones.

As Blaze News reported in December, Jones had been a substitute teacher with the Midlothian Independent School District. However, the district said Jones was terminated from her position immediately following her arrest.

KDFW-TV reported that Jones had worked as a substitute four times in 2025 at Heritage High School and Baxter Elementary School.

The school district emphasized that there is no indication that the child sex crime charges are linked to Jones’ role as a substitute teacher. The school district said preliminary findings show that none of the alleged misconduct occurred on a Midlothian ISD campus or during school-sanctioned events.

RELATED: Neighbors allegedly noticed something suspicious — now a teacher is accused of 'extremely disturbing' sex assault of student

The Midlothian Police Department said in a statement that officers were "dispatched to investigate a report of a potential sexual assault involving a child" on Dec. 17.

KFDA-TV obtained court documents in January saying officers went to the home of a woman who identified herself as a friend of Jones.

"She told officers that Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship and that she had concerns with Dondlinger’s behavior toward a 5-year-old child in Jones’ home," KFDA reported.

Court documents said Jones informed authorities that Dondlinger was having sexual fantasies about the child.

According to KFDA, "Officers then spoke with Jones, who then confessed to sexually assaulting the 5-year-old on direction from Dondlinger."

Jones confessed that she sent videos of the sex acts to Dondlinger via Snapchat to satisfy his sexual requests, according to court records.

Citing the affidavit, KFDA reported that investigators discovered a message from Dondlinger that corroborated Jones' claim that she was acting at his direction.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Jones is accused of possessing more than 500 visual depictions of child pornography.

KVII-TV reported that the alleged child sex abuse involved one purported victim between Dec. 5 and Dec. 17.

According to KVII, Jones was arrested Dec. 19, and Dondlinger was arrested Dec. 23 on an oil rig site about an hour west of Odessa.

Police seized an iPhone and an iPad from Jones and two iPhones from Dondlinger, according to KFDA.

The Midlothian Police Department said Jones and Dondlinger were in a dating relationship, CBS News reported.

The Ellis County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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