COLUMBIA MAN RECEVIES MAXIMUM SENTENCE FOR CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH A MINOR
July 18, 2022
Columbia – On July 14, 2022, a Richland County jury found Clayton Jones, 31, guilty of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a minor in the 3rd degree. The Honorable Walton McLeod, IV sentenced the defendant to the maximum sentence of fifteen (15) years in prison.
Jurors heard testimony regarding the June 23, 2019 incident, wherein the child, who was seven (7) years old at the time, stated during a forensic interview that the defendant touched her in a sexual manner. She stated that while swimming and playing in the Congaree River near the Gervais Street Bridge in Columbia, the Defendant touched her under her clothing. The victim reported the assault and later identified the defendant as being the man who assaulted her. Jones was arrested by the Columbia Police Department on August 5, 2019.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitors Theresa Johns and Susan Chaffin.
