MMA fighter exposes Florida university student leader in suspected child predator sting
A mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter with a passion for identifying possible child predators has been credited with exposing another suspect in South Florida. This time, Dustin Lampros, founder of 561 Predator Catchers, used a decoy posing online as a 13-year-old boy, according to a court report filed by Delray Beach Police.Lampros seeks to identify suspected sexual predators by engaging them in online conversations with people posing as children.
He and his associates surprise the targets of their stings at public meeting places, film the confrontations, then call police and hand over information.The organization’s social media pages display videos of the encounters like championship belts.In May, Christian Walden, 21, of Boynton Beach, Florida, allegedly expected to meet up with a 13-year-old named Justin at a Home Depot for a sexual rendezvous, Palm Beach County court records show.Instead, between potted ferns and pallets of pavers, Lampros strode up.Then the featherweight fighter pounded Walden unrelentingly with questions about his plans.The conversation between Walden and Lampros’ decoy began on the dating platform Grindr, court records show.Walden allegedly gave his phone number to what he believed was a young teen he knew as “Justin,” and the chat moved off the platform to texts, records show.
A meet-up at Home Depot was arranged, and explicit sex acts were allegedly planned.During their May 26 encounter at the store, Lampros revealed he was working with “an organization that monitors online activity between minors and adults.”Then he launched into quizzing Walden about what he was doing at the store.Walden shrugged and said he was there to meet “this guy I met online.”“How old is he?” Lampros pressed.“I think, 14,” Walden said.When questioned, Walden said the supposed child he’d planned to meet eventually had revealed he was 13.With Lampros peppering him for details, Walden calmly poured out his story, describing sex acts he h...