Former Texas teacher, boyfriend face nearly $9M bond on 38 child sex charges

A former substitute teacher from Texas and her boyfriend are now facing a total of 38 child sex crimes charges and their bonds have been set at nearly $9 million.

Madison Paige Jones, a former substitute teacher in the Midlothian Independent School District, and her boyfriend, Zackery Dondlinger, were first arrested in December after Midlothian police launched an investigation into allegations involving a 5-year-old child living at Jones’ home.

Jones’ bond was initially set at $90,000 and Dondlinger’s was initially reported at $250,000, but their bond was increased significantly after additional charges were filed earlier this month.

Jones faces 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child, one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of indecency involving sexual contact with a child and three counts of indecency involving exposure to a child.

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Dondlinger faces one count of sexual performance by a child under 14, 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child, two counts of indecency involving sexual contact with a child, three counts of indecency involving exposure to a child and a felony warrant.

Dondlinger’s bond is currently set at $5 million, while Jones’ bond is set at $3.8 million.

NewsChannel10, the NBC affiliate in Amarillo, reported that court documents show Midlothian police were called to the home of a woman who identified herself as Jones’ friend on Dec. 17.

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Zackery Dondlinger faces multiple child sex crimes charges in Ellis County, Texas. (Ellis County Sheriff’s Office)

The woman told officers she was concerned about Dondlinger’s behavior toward the 5-year-old child who lived at Jones’ home. Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship at the time.

Jones allegedly told investigators that Dondlinger directed him to sexually assault the child and that he carried out the acts, according to the documents. The documents also state that Jones told authorities that Dondlinger had sexual fantasies about the child.

Affidavits obtained by the station say Jones described the sexual acts to investigators and told police she recorded videos of the abuse and sent them to Dondlinger via Snapchat.

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A Texas substitute teacher was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including aggravated sexual assault of a child on December 19, 2025. (fstop123/iStock via Getty Images Plus)

Investigators later seized Jones’ iPhone while executing a search warrant, and an affidavit said the phone contained a message from Dondlinger that supported Jones’ statement that he was acting under his direction. Authorities also seized an iPad from Jones and two iPhones from Dondlinger at the time of his arrest.

Jones was first arrested on Dec. 19 after police began investigating a report of a possible child sexual assault two days earlier.

Detectives later identified Dondlinger, 37, as the second suspect in the case, and Dondlinger was arrested on Dec. 23 on a charge of sexual performance by a child, according to the Midlothian Police Department.

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Midlothian police previously told Fox News Digital that Jones and Dondlinger were in a dating relationship.

Midlothian Independent School District said Jones was no longer with the district and confirmed that she had worked as a substitute teacher four times in the previous year. School officials also said they had no information that the allegations were connected to Jones’ employment or occurred on school property.