Man accused of using Instagram to find minors for prostitution in Miami-Dade

Police officers arrested Mauricio Hernandez on Wednesday in Miami-Dade County. (MDCR)

MIAMI ā€“ A 25-year-old man stands accused of using Instagram to prey on minors for prostitution in Miami-Dade County, according to prosecutors with the human trafficking task force.

Corrections officers booked Mauricio Hernandez shortly after midnight on Thursday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and they were holding him without bond, records show.

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Two teenage girls, ages 13 and 15, told detectives that after connecting with Hernandez on Instagram the prostitution happened in his car and at motels, according to prosecutors.

ā€œOffered to give her money to go on her eighth-grade field trip in exchange for sex,ā€ Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Victoria Sigler said while reviewing Hernandezā€™s case during his court appearance.

Sigler ordered Hernandez to stay away from the two victims in the case. County records show four of the nine charges that Hernandez is facing are not bondable.

Hernandez is facing two counts of human trafficking, two counts of commercial sex with a minor, two counts of sexual battery on a minor, two counts of using a computer to solicit a child for sex, two counts of lewd and lascivious battery on a child and one count of custody interference.


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.