Connor N. Smith's mug shot (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office), left, and a photo of him during season 3 of MTV’s Are You the One? (MTV/YouTube screenshot)
A 32-year-old ex- MTV reality TV personality was arrested in Florida last week after being wanted for more than a year due to allegations of soliciting sex from an underage girl in Illinois.
Connor N. Smith was apprehended on Thursday and is awaiting return to Illinois where he will face multiple felony charges according to records from Law&Crime. These include traveling to meet a minor for a sexual encounter, disseminating harmful material, and grooming.
Police officers from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office located Smith in an unincorporated area of Clearwater, Florida around 12:20 p.m. on March 28. This information was obtained from a probable cause affidavit by People. obtained by The affidavit stated that at the time of his arrest, Smith was unarmed, sober, and did not appear to be experiencing any mental health issues.
As previously mentioned by Law&Crime, authorities began searching for Smith in February 2023 after he evaded a sex sting operation in Lake County, Illinois. Before the sting, it was claimed that Smith had spent weeks communicating online with an undercover detective who posed as an under-15 girl. During these conversations, Smith allegedly sent sexually explicit images and videos of himself to the undercover detective. On the evening of Feb. 9, 2023, Smith drove to a parking garage to meet the girl, but left when detectives attempted to apprehend him, as stated by officials.In a recent update on the case, Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, told the Chicago Fox affiliate WFLD that Smith immediately became suspicious, drove away at a high speed, and evaded authorities.
Following this incident, the sheriff’s office issued a warrant for Smith's arrest on three felony charges: traveling to meet a minor, disseminating harmful material, and grooming. A judge in Lake County set a $1 million bond for the warrant.
The sheriff’s office stated that Smith had indicated he would surrender, but never did, prompting authorities to advise the public to report any sightings of Smith to law enforcement instead of approaching him. told Covelli also mentioned that Smith had “significant family” in southern Florida and had been seen in the area multiple times after leaving Illinois.
Smith gained fame as a participant on the MTV reality show “Are You the One” in 2015.
In 2021, he was previously arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Indiana. However, the charges were dropped because prosecutors believed they could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt after the alleged victim stopped cooperating.
The exact timing of Smith's return to Illinois to deal with the charges against him was not known right away.
Connor N. Smith, who used to be on MTV's reality TV show, was taken into custody in Florida over a year after reportedly running away from a sex sting operation.
Smith became famous as a contestant on the MTV reality show “Are You the One” in 2015.
He was previously arrested and charged in 2021 with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in Indiana. However, prosecutors in that case dismissed the charges against the former reality TV star, telling the judge they did not believe they could prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt after the alleged victim ceased cooperating.
It was not immediately clear when Smith would be transported back to Illinois to face the charges against him.