A former behavioral health counselor was apprehended in Arizona on Tuesday after authorities said he faked his own death to avoid registering as a sex offender.

Benjamin Hollins, 50, was convicted of an unspecified sexual offense more than 20 years ago in California, but failed to register as sex offender in 2018 when he moved to Arizona City, where he was working in mental health, the Pinal County Sheriffs Office announced Thursday.

The same year, Hollins was charged with kidnapping and the attempted sexual assault of a 16-year-old client in Arizona.

Hollins took a plea deal and was sentenced to supervised probation, according to the announcement. As part of the plea deal, Hollins was required to register as a sex offender on a yearly basis.

Deputies said that in October 2023, Hollins enlisted help from a woman to file a false report. The woman claimed she saw Hollins kill himself by jumping off the bridge at the Theodore Roosevelt Lake Dam.