Ex-MTV Star Nabbed on Child Solicitation Charges After Evading Police for a Year

Amy Furr

Police have nabbed a former MTV reality show star who has been running from law enforcement for over a year on child solicitation charges.

Fox 32 identified the suspect in the case on Friday as 33-year-old Connor Smith, who is originally from Orland Park, a Chicago suburb. The outlet noted he starred in the reality show called Are You the One? in 2015.

Images show the suspect involved in the case:

A year ago the man was involved in a short high speed chase with officials from the Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office when they tried to arrest him for indecent solicitation of a child.

The Fox report continued:

The chase began around 6 p.m. in the parking lot of a Lake County shopping mall. Investigators said Smith drove from his Orland Park home in the 8200 block of Hillcrest Drive to meet who he thought was an underage girl for a sexual encounter.

…

“Connor Smith kept engaging this girl in communication, in conversation, eventually sending lewd photos of himself to who he thought was this girl, really an undercover detective, and then worked out a plan to meet who he thought was this girl to engage in a sexual relationship,” said Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

When Smith pulled into the parking lot, Covelli said sheriff’s officers immediately approached his pickup truck and Smith hit the gas.

Authorities chased the suspect, but he was driving so fast and so dangerously they ended the pursuit.

“It’s a nationwide warrant so he can be arrested anywhere in the country and he’ll be extradited back to Lake County to face the charges,” Covelli said in February 2023:

Smith was located and taken into custody in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday and now faces three felony charges: traveling to meet a minor, disseminating harmful material, and grooming, the Fox article said.

Video footage shows Smith starring in an episode of Are You the One? as he spent time with a young woman in Hawaii.

According to 10 Tampa Bay, Smith is facing 11 felony counts in Lake County, Illinois, where the alleged crimes took place.

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