A man was arrested for allegedly molesting a boy in a bathroom at Dolphin Mall earlier this month is still awaiting trial in a similar case from 2022, records showed.
Hunter Nicholas Hines, 35, was arrested Monday on charges of attempted sexual battery of a victim under 18, and lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 16, an arrest report said.
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According to the report, Miami-Dade Police responded to the mall in Sweetwater on Jan. 4 after a 13-year-old boy said a man molested him in a bathroom at Dolphin Mall.
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The teen said he was washing his hands when the man grabbed him and escorted him to a stall, where the man performed a sex act on him, the report said.
He said the man tried to perform another sex act but the teen said he kicked the and fled.
The teen went to the mall security office and reported the incideent, giving a description of the man and his clothing.
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Investigators obtained surveillance images of the suspect and used facial recognition software to identify him as Hines.
Hines, who lives in Pembroke Pines, was later arrested and booked into jail.
Records showed Hines is already facing charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious battery and traveling to meet a minor charges in a 2022 case in Indian River County.
In that case, the juvenile victim said he'd met a man through Grindr and the two exchanged messages for a few hours, a warrant said.
The victim, who has Asperger's Syndrome, said he'd told the man he was 14 but the man wanted to pick him up and hang out, the warrant said.
The boy said the man picked him up at his home and forced him to perform sex acts and raped him, a warrant said.
Investigators later determined the man the boy met was Hines, the warrant said.
During Hines' appearance in Miami-Dade bond court Tuesday, a prosecutor mentioned the previous case in asking for a $500,000 bond for Hines, calling him "an extreme danger to the community."
Hines' attorney asked for a more reasonable bond of $75,000. The judge ultimately set bond at $200,000 plus house arrest with a GPS monitor.
Records show Hines is a microbiologist with a PhD from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.
His "Dr. Hunter" profile on Instagram has nearly 130,000 followers and a 2023 report from TCPalm.com on his previous arrest said he'd previously appeared in several videos with YouTube personality Coyote Peterson on his "Brave Wilderness" channel, which has over 21 million subscribers.
In a statement to NBC6, an attorney representing Hines said his client is confident he'll be vindicated in the courts.