A former MTV star who was on the run for over a year has been arrested on charges of attempting to meet with a child for a sexual encounter in Lake County.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division was working in collaboration with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) last year.
The agencies were investigating Connor N. Smith, 34, formerly of Orland Park, who had allegedly been communicating for several weeks with an undercover detective online.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said in February 2023 that the detective was posing as a girl under the age of 15.
During the conversations, Smith sent “the child” sexually explicit images and videos of himself.
Smith also made arrangements to meet the girl for a sexual encounter, Covelli said.
Smith on February 9, 2023, drove to meet the girl to engage in a sexual encounter with her, Covelli said.
When Smith arrived, detectives moved in to apprehend him but the man was able to escape and flee in his vehicle.
Sheriff’s detectives obtained a nationwide arrest warrant for Smith for traveling to meet a minor, grooming and disseminating harmful material, which are all felonies.
A Lake County judge set bond on the warrant at $1 million. Smith indicated he would surrender himself on the warrant but never did, Covelli said.
The Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff’s Office arrested Smith on Thursday, more than a year after the warrant was issued.
Smith, who is now residing in Clearwater, Florida, appeared in court Friday and remains held in the Pinellas County Jail awaiting extradition to Illinois.
In 2015, Smith appeared on an MTV dating show called “Are You the One?”
In December 2021, Smith was arrested on a warrant for allegedly sexually assaulting and kidnapping a 16-year-old girl in northwest Indiana after meeting her on a dating app. Those charges were later dismissed.