Connor Smith, a contestant on MTV’s show Are You the one?, was arrested on Thursday at Clearwater, Florida, after an entire year of being evading from the authorities. A active search warrant for the former reality TV participant’s capture in Illinois was in effect since February 2023.

The year before, Smith fled from police in Illinois following a plan to meet an unidentified minor to have sexual sex. Over the course of just a few days, Smith was not aware that undercover officers had been texting him in disguise as a girl of 15 as reported by Deadline. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office report revealed that, prior to the arrangements to meet in person Smith sent explicit photos and videos prior to setting up the meeting.

The 33-year old allegedly planned to meet with the child fictitious on February. 9, with the intention to engage in sexual acts between them. As police arrived to arrest him in his home then he fled with his pickup truck.

On February 20, 2023 a national warrant for arrest was issued to him, which included criminal charges for traveling to meet minors grooming, distributing, or distributing harmful materials. In addition, if he is taken into custody and held the judge could approve the bond of one million dollars in the event of his arrest.

Smith has been previously mentioned to have been accused of sexual assault on an unidentified young person in 2021. The charges were dropped. In the words of TMZ the victim told police a brutal description of the incident which led to him being detained in the nearby city of Chicago in the aftermath. The victim ceased from cooperating with police agencies in September 2022 and all allegations against him were dismissed.

According to a log of inmates from Pinellas County, Florida, Smith was arrested on Thursday afternoon, following reports of him being observed on the streets of Florida. He is in jail pending bail and is scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday.