Last Comic Standing winner is arrested on child porn charges after police received online tip

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The previous winner of Last Comic Standing, Jon Reep, has been taken into custody due to allegations involving the illicit exploitation of minors.

In a statement, the Hickory Police Department reported that a 53-year-old individual named Reep was taken into custody in Hickory, North Carolina, on Friday.

Police reports indicate that the comedian was taken into custody based on a tip they received online as far back as April this year.

Reep or his representative have been reached out to by the Daily Mail for a comment, but they haven’t responded as of yet.

Three days following his indictment on September 2nd by the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office, Reep was apprehended. The charges against him include nine counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, as reported by TMZ.

The charges from the grand jury were reportedly all related to child sexual abuse materials.

The police investigation on Reep began following a recommendation from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), who had received a report concerning Internet Crimes Against Children in April.

The tip reportedly pointed authorities toward an online account that belonged to the stand-up star.

In April, a police incident report, completed following the receipt of a tip, noted that “Obscene Content/Child Pornography” was suspected to be associated with the individual’s online account.

The police obtained a search warrant for the place connected to the IP address linked with an account, and during the search, they confiscated electronic devices found on the premises.

It’s said that Reep was allegedly apprehended at his residence around midday on a Friday. At present, he remains in custody at the Catawba County Detention Center.

On Monday, September 8, the TV actor will make his first appearance in court, as a judge has set his bail at $260,000, it was reported by WCNC Charlotte.

After his arrest, it seems like Reep’s personal website, which provides information about his touring schedule, has become inactive. However, his podcast website, Carolina Reeper, remains accessible up until Friday night.

The comedian had been set to perform a stand-up act at the Paramount Theatre in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on a Friday evening.

According to a statement made to TMZ, the Paramount Theatre clarified that they did not schedule Jon Reep’s performance themselves. Instead, a third-party event organizer hired by them had booked the theater for various comedians and musicians.

Upon hearing about Mr. Reep’s predicament, we reached out to the producer for more information right away. Unfortunately, this has led us to cancel tonight’s show. We will work together with them to see if we can reschedule. If so, those who currently have tickets will have the option to keep them or receive a refund.

Reep is best known for winning the fifth season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2007.

Before achieving that remarkable success, I was already recognized due to my role as a police officer in the ABC sitcom “Rodney,” alongside comedian and country singer Rodney Carrington, from 2004 to 2006.

Additionally, Reep made a brief appearance in the film Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008). Furthermore, he was a special guest star on the Disney Channel show Good Luck Charlie in 2010.

In 2013, Reep made an appearance in four episodes of Danny McBride’s dark comedy series Eastbound & Down, airing on HBO. Following this, he had guest appearances in one episode each for Black-ish in 2015, Jane The Virgin in 2017, and provided voice-over work for American Dad in 2020.

In the year 2024, Reep’s latest acting role appeared in an episode of Larry David’s television show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, which airs on HBO.

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2025-09-06 04:03