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A former Texas substitute teacher and her boyfriend now face a combined 38 counts of sex crimes against children, with bails 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 boy who lived in Jones’ home.
Jones’ bond was initially set at $90,000 and Dondlinger’s was initially reported at $250,000, but after the additional charges were filed earlier this month, their bonds were increased dramatically.
Jones faces 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact and three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure.
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Madison Jones, 30, was arrested by officers with the Midlothian Police Department on December 19, 2025. (Ellis County Sheriff’s Office)
Dondlinger faces one count of sexual performance by a child under 14, 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact, three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure and a felony warrant for his arrest.
Dondlinger’s bail is now set at $5 million, while Jones’ bail is $3.8 million.
NewsChannel10, an NBC affiliate in Amarillo, reported that court documents show Midlothian police were called to the home of a woman on Dec. 17 who identified herself as a friend of Jones.
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Zackery Dondlinger faces multiple sex crimes against children in Ellis County, Texas. (Ellis County Sheriff’s Office)
The woman told officers she was concerned about Dondlinger’s behavior toward a 5-year-old boy who lived in Jones’ home. Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship at the time.
According to the documents, Jones allegedly told investigators that Dondlinger ordered her to sexually assault the boy and that she carried out the acts. The documents also state that Jones told authorities that Dondlinger had sexual fantasies about the boy.
Affidavits obtained by the station say Jones described the sexual acts to investigators and told police he 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 states that the phone contained a message from Dondlinger that supported Jones’ account of acting under his instructions. Authorities also confiscated an iPad from Jones, while two iPhones were taken from Dondlinger at the time of his arrest.
Jones was first arrested on Dec. 19 after police began investigating a report two days earlier of a possible child sexual assault.
Detectives later identified Dondlinger, 37, as a second suspect in the case, and he was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with sexual conduct by a child, according to the Midlothian Police Department.
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Midlothian police previously told Fox News Digital that Jones and Dondlinger had been in a dating relationship.
The Midlothian Independent School District said Jones is no longer employed by the district and confirmed that she had worked as a substitute teacher on four occasions over the past year. School officials also said they have no information to suggest the allegations are related to Jones’ work or occurred on school property.