Texas teacher and her boyfriend indicted over s3xual abuse of 5-year-old girl

Tuesday, March, 17 2026 - A Texas grand jury has indicted a former substitute teacher and her boyfriend on dozens of charges connected to the alleged s3xual abuse of a 5-year-old girl. 

Madison Paige Jones, 30, was indicted March 4, 2026 on 19 charges, including aggravated s3xual assault of a child, s3xual contact with a child and possession with intent to promote child pornography, according to Ellis County court records. 

Her boyfriend, Zackery Dondlinger, 37, faces 20 similar charges. 

The indictments indicate the grand jury determined there was enough evidence for the case to proceed toward trial.

The investigation began on December 17, 2026 when Midlothian police were called to look into a possible s3xual assault involving a child. 

Authorities said a friend of Jones alerted police after claiming Jones told them she had recorded s3xual acts involving a child and sent the videos to her boyfriend.

“Madison admitted she sent the videos to her boyfriend, Zackery, on Snapchat,” an affidavit states, according to People.

According to court documents cited by News Channel 10, Jones allegedly told investigators she abused the child at Dondlinger’s request and shared the recordings with him.

Investigators said they also discovered text messages between the pair that appeared to support those claims.

Jones was taken into custody Dec. 19, 2025. 

Authorities later identified Dondlinger as a second suspect and arrested him December 23 at the oil rig where he was working. 

Midlothian Assistant Police Chief Scott Brown said the accusations are unrelated to Jones’ employment in education.

“There was an allegation made that she was involved in an offense against a child, and a boyfriend was involved as well,” Brown told PEOPLE. “She was employed in our local school district, and this has no connection with her job as a teacher.”

Jones previously worked as a substitute teacher in the Midlothian Independent School District, though officials said she had only worked four days during the past year and is no longer employed there.

After the indictments were returned, Jones’ bond was raised to $3.84 million and Dondlinger’s bond to $5 million, according to KVII.