MIAMI — A man arrested in 2025 after authorities said he molested a 13-year-old boy in a bathroom at the Dolphin Mall took a plea deal in Miami-Dade court on Friday, earning a 12 year prison sentence.

Hunter Nicholas Hines, 37, of Pembroke Pines, was charged with attempted sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation of a child in connection with the Jan. 4, 2025 incident at the popular retail hub, located at 11401 NW 12th St. in Sweetwater.

He’ll also serve 15 years of sex offender probation.

Investigators said Hines, then 35, approached the boy as he was washing his hands, grabbed him and “escorted” him into a stall. Investigators said Hines held the boy with one hand, pulled down his pants with the other and molested him.

Authorities said the victim kicked Hines and escaped after he tried to perform oral sex on him.

Hines did all this while out on bond for committing a similar crime on Florida’s Treasure Coast on Nov. 7, 2022, when he was 33. It would earn him the status of sexual predator.

In that case, Indian River County deputies said Hines victimized a 14-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome whom he met through the app Grindr.

Deputies said Hines drove the teen to a neighborhood, then pulled down the boy’s pants and began performing oral sex on him. He then forced the boy to perform the same act on him.

Records show Hines pleaded no contest to three charges in that case, including child sexual battery, this May. In that case, he also received a 12-year sentence with 15 years of sex offender probation, with credit for time served.

As part of his plea, an Indian River County judge signed an order declaring him a sexual predator.

Hines, prior to his legal troubles, was a microbiologist with a doctorate degree who gained a social media following for posts about his research.

Records show he was being held in Miami-Dade’s Metrowest Detention Center as of Friday morning.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether his Miami-Dade sentence would run concurrently with his Indian River sentence.

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