A 21-year-old Nashville, Arkansas, man has been arrested on a McLean County warrant following a nearly two-year investigation by Normal Police into the alleged online grooming and exploitation of a local child.
Normal Police say Daveon D. Smith was arrested Aug. 12 in Arkansas by a U.S. Marshals Task Force. He faces charges of grooming, exploitation of a child under 13 involving the removal of clothing, exploitation of a child under 13 involving exposing himself, and solicitation of child sexual abuse material involving a victim under 13.
The investigation began in December 2024 after police learned an unknown suspect had contacted a local underage girl online and engaged in inappropriate communications. Normal detectives, working with the McLean County Children’s Advocacy Center, obtained search warrants for the suspect’s social media accounts and preserved digital evidence, including inappropriate images allegedly shared online.
Detectives eventually identified Smith, and the case was presented to a McLean County grand jury, which returned an indictment and led to the issuance of an arrest warrant. Police say the investigation remains ongoing. Smith is considered innocent unless proven guilty in court.
