NoVA Sex Offender With 10 Prior Convictions Faces New Federal Charge

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A registered sex offender from Herndon who was previously convicted of 10 child pornography offenses was arrested by federal authorities Tuesday on a charge that he conspired to bring a child from Kansas to Virginia for illegal sexual activity, according to federal court records.

Benjamin Scott Heyman, 49, was arrested Tuesday in Fairfax, according to the return on a federal arrest warrant filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The warrant was issued Sept. 10 based on a criminal complaint charging Heyman with conspiracy to transport a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

The federal case grew out of an investigation that began with Heyman's June 2025 arrest in Fairfax County after he allegedly arranged to meet someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy for sexual activity, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent.

The new federal charge is an allegation. Heyman has not been convicted in the federal case.

FBI Says Phone Led Investigators To Kansas

According to the FBI affidavit, Heyman contacted an undercover law enforcement officer on June 16, 2025, through an app used to arrange sexual encounters. The officer told Heyman he was 14, but Heyman allegedly continued the conversation, discussed sexual activity and arranged a time and place to meet.

Heyman went to the agreed-upon location and was arrested, according to the FBI. He then consented to searches of his home and cellphone, investigators said.

Agents said a search of the phone uncovered a significant quantity of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, as well as conversations with other people, including an identified person in Kansas.

According to the affidavit, Heyman had begun communicating with the person in Kansas in April 2025. The FBI said the person had access to four boys who were 8, 9, 12 and 14 at the time.

Investigators saidHeyman and the person exchanged CSAM and discussed having some of the children travel from Kansas to Virginia in August 2025. According to the affidavit, Heyman repeatedly asked the person to determine whether the children were interested in making the trip.

The FBI alleges the proposed trip was intended to facilitate sexual activity involving at least one child.

Investigators said they found probable cause to believe that between April 7 and June 16, 2025, Heyman conspired with another person to transport at least one minor in interstate commerce with the intent that the child engage in illegal sexual activity. The federal complaint specifically cites forcible sodomy of a child younger than 13 under Virginia law as the underlying criminal sexual activity.

The complaint charges Heyman with violating 18 U.S.C. §2423(a) and (f), conspiracy to transport a minor in interstate and foreign commerce with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Fairfax Charges Dropped Day Before Federal Arrest

The federal arrest came one day after prosecutors ended a group of Fairfax County felony cases stemming from Heyman's June 16, 2025 arrest.

Virginia court records reviewed by Patch show Heyman had been charged with proposing a sexual act with a child younger than 15, attempted indecent liberties with a child younger than 15, 12 counts of possession of child pornography as a repeat offender and solicitation of prostitution involving a person younger than 16. The cases were filed June 17, 2025.

All 15 cases had preliminary hearings scheduled for Sept. 14.

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The individual court records reviewed by Patch prosecutors elected not to proceed with the charges. The records do not indicate that the charges were dismissed with prejudice. One of the cases, which accused Heyman of proposing a sexual act with a child younger than 15, shows a final preliminary hearing Sept. 14 followed by the prosecutor dropping the charge

The attempted indecent liberties case shows the same result. Court records for the repeat-offender child pornography charges and solicitation case were also dropped.

The records reviewed by Patch do not state why Fairfax prosecutors ended the state cases, nor do they establish that the decision was made because federal authorities were preparing to arrest Heyman.

The timing, however, shows the two proceedings occurred in quick succession: the federal complaint and arrest warrant were issued Sept. 10, the Fairfax charges were dropped on Monday, and Heyman was arrested on the federal warrant the next day. The federal complaint was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala in Alexandria.

Registry Lists 10 Previous Convictions

Virginia State Police records show Heyman was already a registered sex offender at the time of the conduct alleged by federal investigators.

The Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry lists Heyman as a Tier 1 offender whose initial registration date was July 13, 2019. The registry, accessed Wednesday, lists his current status as incarcerated and says he is not subject to lifetime registration.

The registry lists 10 felony convictions in Fairfax Circuit Court under Virginia Code §18.2-374.1:1(A), which the registry describes as possession of obscene material with a minor. All 10 convictions are dated July 12, 2019.

Those records corroborate the FBI affidavit, which says Heyman was convicted of 10 counts of possession of child pornography in 2019. Federal investigators said those convictions qualify as prior sex-offense convictions under federal law.

According to the affidavit, Heyman was released from prison around October 2022 and remained under the supervision of a probation officer through June 16, 2025.

The FBI says that beginning around February 2025, Heyman began using an unauthorized and unmonitored cellphone that his probation officer did not know about to access the internet and trade.

Fairfax Circuit Court records provide additional details about Heyman's earlier prosecution. Court records show Commonwealth of Virginia v. Benjamin Scott Heyman, case FE-2019-0000276, contained 10 charges of possession of child pornography under Virginia Code §18.2-374.1:1. The Circuit Court case is now listed as closed.