HUMAN TRAFFICKING WATCH · DISPATCH
Westfield Investigation, Madison County Charges
Allegations trace April meetings, rideshare pickups, and digital evidence across jurisdictions.
Westfield police opened a May investigation after a child-services referral; two 45-year-olds now face Madison County felony charges tied to alleged April meetings, rideshare pickups, and video evidence, with one defendant bonded out and the other still detained.
The investigation opened on May 8, 2026, after the Department of Child Services alerted the Westfield Police Department, and by the time officers compiled a probable cause affidavit, two 45-year-olds — Jessica Lindzy of Ingalls and Carlos Ponce of Indianapolis — faced a slate of felony counts in Madison County Court, including child sexual trafficking, child exploitation, endangering a dependent, and disseminating matter harmful to minors, with Lindzy posting a $50,000 bond while Ponce remained in custody on a $50,000 bail as the case moved into initial hearings and charging review (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
According to details recorded in the affidavit, the juvenile, a 16-year-old from Westfield, described a pattern that concentrated in April 2026 — Fridays, mostly — when an Uber ride was ordered from her grandmother’s residence to a nearby grocery store, where Lindzy and Ponce would pick her up and then drive to hotels or to Lindzy’s home in Ingalls, a routine the teen believed repeated weekly during that month and one that investigators mapped against the timeline provided in interviews (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
The affidavit further stated the teen reported being given alcohol, ketamine, cocaine, and other substances on different occasions, and investigators documented that video recordings of the juvenile were located on Ponce’s phone; both defendants, in separate statements described in the filing, allegedly acknowledged knowing the teen’s age during the period in question, a fact that bears directly on the severity of the counts prosecutors brought in Madison County (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
Detectives serving a search warrant at Lindzy’s Ingalls residence interviewed her and recorded that she admitted convincing the teen to engage in a sexual relationship involving Lindzy and Ponce, later confirming many of the teen’s statements, while officers locating Ponce in Indianapolis reported finding cocaine on him and, upon reviewing his phone, multiple videos depicting the juvenile, alongside an admission that he engaged in sexual conduct with Lindzy and the girl, all of which now sits at the center of the evidentiary record (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
The affidavit also noted corroborating material from the teen’s mother, who provided screenshots of text messages and photos exchanged between the girl and the two defendants, while the DCS referral that triggered the case set in motion interviews, digital examinations, and the sequence of warrants that ultimately brought together hotel stays, rideshare pickups, and communications traffic into a single probable cause narrative submitted to Madison County prosecutors (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
Both defendants were charged with felonies as listed in court records, a charging posture that underscores the state’s view of the conduct alleged in April and that will now be tested in adversarial proceedings; as the filings emphasize, they remain accused — not convicted — while bond, custody, and discovery decisions proceed under Madison County’s supervision, with Westfield police and child-services officials documented as the initiating reporters and investigators in the case record (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
Across the documents, the geography is precise: a Westfield teenager, rideshare pickups from a family home to a grocery store, transport to hotels or to a residence in Ingalls, and a phone located in Indianapolis that investigators say held videos — a route built from ordinary logistics, not elaborate concealment, and one that raises direct questions for caregivers, platforms, and lodging operators about earlier detection and faster intervention when weekly patterns begin to take shape in plain sight (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
This case is active; if you or someone you know needs support or believes a minor may be at risk, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888 or text 233733, or, where immediate danger is present, call 911; as of publication, Lindzy had posted a $50,000 bond and Ponce remained jailed on $50,000 bail while Madison County prosecutors review the evidence and the court schedules the next steps (Kheiry, n.d.; Current Publishing, n.d.)
Locations: Westfield, Marion County, Ingalls, India
Tags: investigation, indictment, local, state, frontline