Miami man sexually batters two middle school girls — one during school hours, police say

A Miami man used Instagram to find underage girls and pay them for sex — sexually battering a 15-year-old and 13-year-old, police said.

Mauricio Hernandez, 25, is facing nine charges including human trafficking, sexual battery of a minor, soliciting a child to engage in sex, lewd and lascivious battery on a child and interference with custody. As of Friday, he was still in jail.

On Wednesday, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force received a tip that a 15-year-old was involved in an Instagram group where children were connected with adults who wanted to have sex for money, an arrest report read.

A Miami police detective spoke to the young girl, who detailed multiple sexual encounters with Hernandez. She said they met on Instagram and he offered money for sex.

She told the detective they met three times for sex and on two of those occasions Hernandez arranged for an Uber to pick her up near her middle school while class was in session, the report read.

As authorities investigated the original tip, they discovered a 13-year-old girl who was also sexually battered by Hernandez, police say.

She also met Hernandez on Instagram, and said he told her he’d give her money for sex. After having intercourse in his car, she said, he tried to give her a vape pen and wanted her to tell him if she knew other young girls who would agree to have sex for money.

After talking to both victims, Miami detectives set up a sting operation to catch Hernandez on Wednesday, the report read.

As detectives watched, the 13-year-old messaged Hernandez asking for help to fund her 8th Grade field trip. He said he would only help if he could have sex with her.

Authorities arrested Hernandez at his home. He later confessed to knowing the girls were in middle school and paying to have sex with them, they say.