MTV Reality Contestant Arrested For Grooming Undercover Cop Posing As Minor

Bruce Haring

29 March 2024 at 8:10 pm·1-min read

Connor Smith, who was a contestant on the MTV dating show Are You The One? in 2015, was arrested Thursday in Clearwater, Florida after a year on the lam.

Smith fled from police in Illinois last year after allegedly making plans to meet up with a minor for sex.

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Unbeknownst to him, Smith had been messaging for weeks with an undercover detective pretending to be a 15-year-old girl. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said he sent explicit photos and videos before making a plan to meet in-person.

Police approached him at his home and he fled.

A nationwide warrant was issued in February 2023, listing charges of traveling to meet a minor, grooming, and disseminating harmful material.

Smith was previously charged with sexually assaulting a minor in 2021, but those charges were dismissed.

He is being held without bond, and was expected to appear in court today.

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