A mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who has developed a passion for identifying potential child sex predators has now been credited with exposing a deviant suspect located in South Florida. Dustin Lampros, founder of 561 Predator Catchers, decided to employ the use of deception, using a decoy by posing as a 13-year-old boy online, according to court documents filed by Delray Beach Police.
Lampros tries to find and identify potential sex offenders by engaging in online conversations with people while pretending to be a child. He and those he works with end up surprising their targets by setting up sting operations at public meeting places. They film the confrontations and then phone the police and provide them with the information they have collected.
The footage taken during the confrontations is later posted on social media pages. In May 2026, Christian Walden, 21, of Boynton Beach, Florida was expecting to meet with a 13-year-old boy named Justin at a Home Depot for a sexual encounter, the Palm Beach County court records reveal. Instead, hiding between some potted ferns and pallets of pavers, Lampros rolled up on him.
According to a report from the New York Post, Lampros then peppered Walden relentlessly with questions about the plans he made with the fake 13-year-old boy. The operation technically began with the conversation between Walden and Lampros’ decoy on the dating platform Grindr. Walden gave “Justin” his phone number and the chat moved from the platform to text messages.
A meet-up at Home Depot was arranged and explicit sex acts were allegedly planned. During the face-to-face meeting with Walden, Lampros told the potential predator that he worked with “an organization that monitors online activity between minors and adults.” He then started questioning 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 asked Walden. “I think, 14,” Walden responded. When pressed further he admitted the decoy was 13. Walden eventually, completely calm, spilled his guts about the sex acts he planned to perform with “Justin.” One of Lampros’ associates filmed the entire interaction. The two men then calmly exited the store.
Delray Beach Police were waiting for Walden outside and took him into custody. Walden told officers that he and the decoy agreed to meet at Home Depot so they could engage in sexual activity, according to court records. During his arrest, Walden told the officers he knew he made a mistake by agreeing to meet with a minor. He was later charged with traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act.
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The crime is a second-degree felony that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Walden was also charged with using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, which is a third-degree felony and is punishable by up to five years in prison, up to five years of probation, and a fine of up to $5,000.
Walden, who is now 22, is out on $25,000 bail. Walden was serving in student government at Florida Atlantic University at the time of the incident. Days after his arrest, an emergency meeting was held and other members voted to impeach and remove him from his position. Walden, a public management major, was working part-time at the school and has held a number of leadership positions in several on-campus clubs. He was “minoring in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video