Stand-up comedian and winner of the show “Last Comic Standing” Jon Reep has been charged with sexually exploiting a minor, according to reports.
Reep, 53, who has appeared on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Black-ish”, was arrested on Friday at his home in Hickory, North Carolina, after police received a cyber tip about a lurid account on an unspecified online app which allegedly belonged to the comedian, WSOC-TV reported.
The allegations against the season 5 winner of “Last Comic Standing” involve sexual exploitation of minors between the age one and 14 years old, according to court documents reviewed by the outlet.
Authorities executed a search warrant at the location associated with the IP address of the suspicious account which led them to Reep.
Electronic devices were seized from the funnyman’s home and are being analyzed for other illegal online communications, according to WSOC-TV.
The “Ginger Beard Man” comic is charged with one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and nine counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to police.
In Hickory, a small town of just over 44,000 people, locals were shocked when the news broke.
“[Reep was] not only very well known, but very well liked,” resident Michael Swink told the outlet. “It’s a shock to hear he would have those charged against him.
A Hickory native, Reep once starred in six well-known Dodge commercials, incorporating a well-known catchphrase “Hey, that thing got a hemi in it?”
Reep was scheduled to perform on Friday night at the Paramount Theater in Goldsboro, NC, but that show has been rescheduled, People reported.
He posted bond on Friday shortly after his arrest.
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