MMA Fighter Dustin Lampros Says 100 Predator Catches Have Led to 10 Convictions
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 3
MMA Fighter Dustin Lampros Says 100 Predator Catches Have Led to 10 Convictions
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 3
Summary
Dustin Lampros, a 32-year-old MMA fighter known online as 561 Predator Catcher, says he has carried out about 100 stings since 2022 and seen roughly 10 convictions, with more cases still pending.
Using decoys posing as 13- or 14-year-olds, Lampros arranges meet-ups, confronts suspects on camera with Meta glasses, and hands messages and video to police after calling 911.
He says the effort began after a cybersecurity friend showed how quickly men contacted a fake 13-year-old profile, reviving memories of two people close to him who were abused.
Lampros says MMA training and faith help him stay calm during confrontations, even after dangerous encounters that included one suspect pulling a gun and another brandishing a boxcutter.
Defense lawyers have cast him as a vigilante, but Lampros says police and prosecutors now take the cases more seriously and that he plans to keep exposing online child predators.