Jon Reep, a 53-year-old comedian and the winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, was arrested Friday in Hickory, North Carolina, on multiple charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, the Hickory Police Department announced.
According to law enforcement, the arrest came after the department received an online tip in April. Reep was taken into custody at his Hickory home three days after a Sept. 2 grand jury indictment handed up by the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office. The indictment includes nine counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, charges that local prosecutors and media reports say are related to child sexual abuse material.
Court records show bond for Reep was set at $260,000. It was not immediately clear when his next court appearance is scheduled. The Hickory Police Department released a booking photograph following the arrest. Media outlets report the counts were returned by a grand jury; the specific allegations in the indictment have not been made public by prosecutors beyond the charge descriptions.
Reep rose to national attention after winning Last Comic Standing in 2007 and has worked as a stand-up comedian and performer since. News organizations that have covered the arrest said they contacted Reep and his representatives for comment; those requests had not been answered as of the police announcement.
The Hickory Police Department identified the online tip as the initial lead prompting investigators to probe the allegations earlier this year. Local law enforcement and the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office have not released additional details about how the tip was processed or the specific evidence underlying the indictment.
Sexual exploitation of a minor is prosecuted under state law; the indictment and subsequent arrest mean the case will move through the Catawba County court system. Prosecutors must make formal charges public in court filings and produce discovery to defense counsel as the case proceeds. Any person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Representatives for the Hickory Police Department and the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately provide further comment beyond the announcement of the arrest and the bond amount. The case is pending and further proceedings are expected in the coming weeks.