DELRAY BEACH, Fla.– Dustin Lampros strides into a grocery store, scanning the aisles for his target.
But it’s not an item on the shelf that he’s pursuing.It’s a suspected child predator.The mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter has been working to expose alleged child predators since 2022.
On social media, where he shares about his quest, he’s known as 561 Predator Catcher, a nod to his hometown area code.To his friends and in cage fights, he’s Scrappy.He earned the nickname on the fourth-grade football field after taking on two bigger boys who’d picked on him.His mission to catch adults who prey on children was launched when a friend in cybersecurity told him about the online danger.MMA FIGHTER HELPS NAB FLORIDA UNIVERSITY STUDENT LEADER IN SUSPECTED CHILD PREDATOR STINGDustin "Scrappy" Lampros stands outside his MMA training gym wearing his Meta Glasses he uses to film people suspected to be child predators in Sunrise, Fla., on June 29, 2026.
(Natasha Holt for Fox News Digital)Lampros had just recommitted to his faith, he told Fox News Digital.He’d started praying to know God’s will for his life.He was stunned when his friend demonstrated the problem.It took minutes to create a fake profile for a 13-year-old girl, "Amy," on a platform known for facilitating connections.TIKTOK IN LEGAL HOT SEAT AS STATE ACCUSES APP OF EXPOSING KIDS TO HARMFUL CONTENT WHILE MISLEADING PARENTSIt took seconds for men to make contact.
"We had multiple grown adults reaching out trying to talk to who they thought was a 13-year-old," Lampros said, fuming at the memory.That sparked painful memories."Two people close to me in my life were victims," he said, including a close childhood friend."He was raped by our principal from sixth to eighth grade."Dustin "Scrappy" Lampros spars with a teammate during training at MMA Science Academy in Sunrise, Fla., on June 29, 2026.
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