Swisher County man, girlfriend, indicted for numerous sex crimes involving 5-year-old girl

Swisher County man, girlfriend, indicted for numerous sex crimes involving 5-year-old girl

by Jamie Burch, ABC 7 NewsThu, March 12, 2026 at 4:01 PM

Madison Jones andZackery Dodlinger (Credit: Midlothian Police Department and Winkler County Sheriff’s Office)

ELLIS COUNTY, Texas (KVII) — A Swisher County man, and his girlfriend, were indicted for numerous sex crimes involving a 5-year-old girl in North Texas. As a result, their combined bonds soared to nearly $9 million.

Zackery Dondlinger, 37, from Happy, was Indicted March 4 by an Ellis County grand jury on 20 counts of child sex crimes.

  • Aggravated sexual assault of a child – 13 counts
  • Indecency with a child exposes – 3 counts
  • Indecency with a child sexual contact – 2 counts
  • Sexual performance by a child – 1 count
  • Possession with intent to promote child pornography – 1 count

Madison Paige Jones, 30, was indicted on 19 counts.

  • Aggravated sexual assault of a child – 13 counts
  • Indecency with a child exposes – 4 counts
  • Indecency with a child sexual contact – 1 count
  • Possession with intent to promote child pornography – 1 count

Police in Midlothian were called in December called to investigate a report of a potential sexual assault involving a child.

The alleged abuse happened from December 5-17, 2025, and involved a single victim.

Two days later, they arrested Jones. At the time, she was a substitute teacher.

Dondlinger was arrested two days before Christmas on a oil rig site about an hour west of Odessa.

After the indictments, his bond was increased from $200,000 to $5,000,000.