A presumed-dead sex offender has been found alive in Arizona with a new family. Benjamin Hollins allegedly faked his death to avoid being named on the sex offender registry.
Hollins was considered deceased after a woman claimed he jumped off the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge in October 2023. Despite a body never being found, officials assumed the man died from a suicide attempt. However, a new revelation uncovered the incident as a ruse.
However, authorities later arrested Hollins on May 14 in Arizona, according to People. They discovered that the 50-year-old bribed the woman to make a false police report to get the police off his trail. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office called his scheme a waste of county resources.
“Now a lot of resources were wasted looking for his body, which was clearly not found because he wasn’t dead,” explained Sheriff Mark Lamb.
The sheriff added, “Nice try, Benjamin. We found you: You’re not dead. We’re gonna hold you accountable.”
Hollins was deemed a sex offender in California over two decades ago. Upon moving to Arizona in 2018, he was not registered in the state, but he worked as a behavioral health counselor. However, Hollins attempted to commit another sex crime with a 16-year-old patient. He was ordered to register annually as a sex register in addition to probation.
After deeming his fake death a success, Hollins returned to Arizona to live with a family, which included young children. However, further investigation into the true status of his whereabouts led to police finding him in the Mesa, Arizona, home. The family was also shocked to learn about his background and the scheme to avoid the registry.
Hollins faces multiple charges while behind bars, such as failure to confirm identification as a sex offender and failure to provide a change of name and address as a sex offender. His next trial date is May 21.
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