Former MTV show star Connor Smith arrested on grooming charges

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A former MTV star from Orland Park, wanted for soliciting sex from an undercover Lake County detective he thought was a girl, was arrested Thursday in Florida after more than a year on the run.

Connor Smith, 33, was wanted on an active arrest warrant for grooming, traveling to meet a minor, and disseminating harmful material, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. He was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in Clearwater, Florida.

Authorities had been searching for Smith since February 2023. 

At the time, Lake County Sheriff's police said he had been communicating with an undercover detective posing as a girl under the age of 15.

Smith, who appeared on the MTV reality series "Are You The One?" in 2015, allegedly sent sexually explicit photos and videos of himself before making arrangements to meet up with her for sex, police said.

On Feb. 9, 2023, he drove to meet her for sex, and when he arrived, detectives tried to arrest him, but he was able to escape.

After his arrest in Florida, Smith was being held at the Pinellas County Jail awaiting extradition to Illinois.