Connor Smith — a former MTV star from 2015’s “Are You the One?” — has been arrested in Florida for allegedly trying to hook up with an underage girl … bringing a year-long manhunt to an end.
The 33-year-old was booked into custody Thursday afternoon, according to an inmate log from Pinellas County, Florida — following reported sightings of him from the Sunshine State.
MTV
The ex-reality show contestant had been wanted in the state of Illinois since February 2023 … where the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said he interacted with an undercover detective online for weeks, thinking the cop was a 15-year-old girl.
He allegedly sent explicit photos and videos of himself — and planned to meet up with the phantom kid to engage in sex acts Feb. 9 … but when officers moved in to apprehend him, he fled in his pickup truck.
The following day, Lake County obtained a warrant for his arrest … on felony charges of traveling to meet a minor, and grooming and disseminating harmful material. A judge also signed off on a million-dollar bond if he were to be captured and arrested.
In a previous run-in with the law, Smith was arrested on a similar charge in 2021 — this after he allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl in Indiana.
Lake County Sheriff's Department
The account the alleged victim gave police was brutal … and he ended up getting picked up in neighboring Chicago. Charges were dropped against him in September 2022 when the victim stopped cooperating with law enforcement.