MMA fighter leans on faith in quest to catch suspected child predators

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.

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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.

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It 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."

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Lampros felt a calling on his life.

"Instantly, I knew that I was meant to do something.

"I could help."

Now, the 32-year-old professional fighter coordinates with people across the country who work as decoys posing as children. They converse online. They exchange photos.

Once an in-person meeting is arranged, and plans for sexual activity are discussed, Lampros prepares to pounce.

At the agreed-upon time, he waits outside the meet-up location. And when he spots the person who’s been communicating with the child, he places a 911 call to police.

Then, he strolls inside. Coolly and confidently, he walks up and addresses his "target" by name.

Immediately, Lampros pummels them with questions about why they’re there, who they’d planned to meet, and what they’d planned to do. He films the interactions on Meta glasses.

"I've gotten really good at getting these guys to just kind of … admit everything to me," he said. Twice, his targets were women. One was a law enforcement officer. Several have been teachers.

When their answers to his questions don’t match the conversations decoys shared with him in screenshots, he brandishes his phone.

"I have all the messages right here," Lampros reveals.

When police arrive, he turns over the messages and his video of the "catch," as he calls it, as evidence.

He credits his MMA training and his faith for his ability to stay calm.

"Inside I'm fuming, I'm boiling," he said.

"The goal is to get these guys arrested, charged, and convicted, and I know that if I put my hands on them, or if I act out, I know that that can affect the case. So, therefore, I keep myself calm, and keep myself composed."

Lampros trains at the MMA Science Academy in Sunrise, Florida. The other fighters and coaches celebrate his successes, said the gym owner, Roger Krahl.

By sparring with him and helping him hone his skills, they feel they play a role in his mission, he said.

But they’re mystified by how Lampros refrains from flexing his fighting skills when interacting with alleged child predators.

"We tell him all the time," Krahl said. "But he’s got the perfect personality for it. He stays very calm and keeps his cool, which is obviously a big thing in the cage.

"When you get in there and fight, you’ve got to be calm under pressure. You’ve got to be able to think."

Lampros has completed about 100 catches since 2022. About 10 have resulted in convictions, he said. Others still simmer in the legal pipeline.

"The cases take years," he said.

Meanwhile, his technique has evolved, even softened, he admitted.

He used to order catches to do pushups while waiting for police. Now, he coaxes alleged predators to discuss details on video that can be turned over to police.

"He’s very comfortable," Krahl said, adding that he doesn’t worry about the 5-foot-7 fighter’s safety.

"Obviously, he can protect himself. He’s a high-level professional athlete.

"Even though he’s a smaller guy—a bantamweight, 135 pounds—I wouldn’t worry about him versus anybody. Just a trained professional athlete versus an untrained person is not even fair."

Lampros and his decoy helpers don’t coordinate with law enforcement. He reveals the details when he calls police.

"I tell them exactly what's going on, that there's a grown adult coming there to meet what they believe is a 13- or 14-year-old to engage in sexual activity."

When officers don’t arrive quickly, Lampros stalls.

Twice the situation spiraled dangerously, he said. Once, a man he was questioning pulled a gun from his car. Lampros and his helper fled. Another man wielded a boxcutter during their interaction.

Lampros isn’t deterred. If he’s ever badly injured or killed during a "catch," he’ll know he was doing God’s will, he said.

"It took years for police departments and state attorneys to actually look at us as legit and to make these cases stick," Lampros said.

Now, about every month, a years-old case yields a conviction, he said.

Some lawyers in Florida advertise that they can help defend accused child predators who interacted with Lampros. They accuse him of being a vigilante. They subpoena him for depositions. Some insist he’s "just in it for the clicks," he said.

But no matter the cost, Lampros said he’s in this fight for the long term.

He won’t stop working to expose child predators, he said. And when his MMA fighting career is over, he hopes to travel the country, educating parents about how to protect children from online dangers.

Before starting 561 Predator Catcher, Lampros said he was where any young, professional fighter would want to be.

He’d moved from Illinois to South Florida, a hub for the sport. He had a 7-0 record in cage fights, with five knockouts.

His sole focus: becoming a fighter for the UFC. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the world’s largest professional MMA organization.

But, "I felt very empty," he said. "My whole identity had been behind being an MMA fighter, being ‘Scrappy’ the fighter. I knew that having UFC as my idol wasn't gonna fulfill me. That's when I realized there's got to be something more for me."

He started praying, he said, "asking for His will to be done in my life."

It was then that he was introduced to the idea of catching child predators. "When you start focusing on God's plan, the doors kind of open up."

"Once I figured that out, and I started living for Him instead of living for Scrappy the Fighter, my life has evolved so much more into such a blessing."

He still hopes to be selected as a fighter in the UFC. But, he said, a fight against evil is far more important. "Knowing that God's on my side, whatever happens, I believe it's God's will."