Former Are You the One star Connor Smith was arrested on rape charges, In Touch can confirm. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, the incident allegedly involved a 16-year-old girl.
The MTV alum, 31, who appeared on the reality show in 2015, is currently in custody in Chicago, Illinois, In Touch confirmed, but the incident occurred in Lake County, Indiana.
Smith was charged on December 10 with felony rape, sexual battery and two counts of criminal confinement. He was arrested in Chicago on December 17 and taken to the Cook County Jail, where he is being held without bond pending extradition to Lake County. The alleged incident occurred on July 16.
The former reality star is accused of forcing the teenager to perform a sex act on him after she got into his pickup truck and forcing her to go to a hotel with him.
The girl told police she met a person known as “Champ” on the Omegle app, which is an online chat website, before they began communicating through Snapchat. She gave him the address of her relatives’ home in Hobart.
Although the girl initially told police Smith pulled her out of a window of the home by her hair before the alleged rape, she later admitted she fabricated that part of the story in fear of getting in trouble for sneaking out of the house.
When she met Smith outside, she told police she had a bad feeling about immediately when she got into his truck. He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him before taking her to a hotel.
He allegedly said, “If you don’t cooperate,” and lit a cigarette lighter, according to records.
While Smith went into the hotel lobby, the girl claimed to police she could hear the locks continually clicking, which made her assume that he was repeatedly pressing the lock button on his key fob to prevent her from escaping.
Smith allegedly slapped and hit her once inside the room when she refused to take off her clothes and asked him to let her go. She claimed she mostly undressed, and Smith allegedly pulled her by the hair into the bathroom, where he urinated on her.
He then allegedly brought the girl back to the bed and is being accused of raping her, forcing her to perform a sex act and strangling her for trying to resist.
Smith dropped the girl off at the corner by her relatives’ home, and he allegedly told her that he would be coming back the following night. Several of her relatives were outside looking for the teen, and they began chasing his truck as he drove away.
Police identified Smith after the girl’s relative provided his license plate number. DNA analysis showed Smith was a “likely match” with the teen’s sexual assault kit, NWI Times reported.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.