DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Dustin Lampros is a fighter. He spends his time in the ring training and fighting other MMA athletes like himself — and fighting for what's right.
For about eight months, Lampros has been the force behind 561 Predator Catcher. It's a group that works with people who create online decoys to catch potential child predators who agree to meet minors for sex. In some cases, the meet-ups result in arrests that are documented on the group's Instagram page.
"I'm a trained professional MMA fighter and, you know, I know how to keep my composure and defend myself," Lampros said. "I have no problem confronting these guys."
WPTV learned about Lampros' initiative while attending a court appearance for a man arrested and charged with sex crimes in Palm Beach County.
Nicholas Watson, a 43-year-old married man from Palm Beach Gardens, faces one count of traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful sex act and nine counts of possessing child pornography. Watson has pleaded not guilty.
Lampros and his team recorded Watson admitting to having "a little bit" of child pornography on his phone.
Detectives with the Delray Beach Police Department said they found hundreds of photos depicting child pornography on Watson's cellphone.
Lampros works with decoys all over the country who set up accounts and pose as children to see if the adults choose to knowingly interact with minors.
He says the decoys tell whoever messages that they are underage, hoping they’ll stop messaging right away.
According to Watson's arrest report, he did not stop messaging the decoy and even made plans to meet up for sex at a Walmart in Delray Beach.
That’s when Lampros and his team moved in to confront Watson.
As soon as the decoys make plans with the alleged predators, they alert Lampros who said he calls 911.
Delray Beach
Suspect accused of trying to have sex with teen girl
"In a seven-month span we've caught over 20 to 30 online child predators down here in Delray Beach area alone," Lampros said.
He said it can get emotional and tense confronting the men and women.
"Some of these guys start crying, some of them will tell you a sob story," he explained. "Some of them will try to make you feel bad for them and it's very easy for that to happen, right? You see this grown man crumbling in front of you. You got to remind yourself, though, and I got to keep it in the back of my head why he's here."
The fight for justice is personal.
"I've had two people in my life that fell victim to child predators. … It changed my best friend's life forever," Lampros said.
Lampros said he always hopes there is no one waiting when he is traveling to confront any potential predators.
"You would think for doing what I do ... I'd want these guys to show up," he said. "I don't want them to show up. I want them to say, 'You know what, this is wrong. I shouldn't be doing this,' and don't show up. But unfortunately, that's not the case."
According to the FBI, 89% of advances made towards children happen online and more than half of the victims are 12 to 15 years old.
Watson is represented by attorney Marc Shiner.
In a statement to WPTV, Shiner said, "Everyone deserves their day in court. We are all presumed innocent despite whatever the allegations that are made. Certain evidence may not even be considered criminal in nature."
Shiner also said he takes issue with the vigilante nature of 561 Predator Catcher.
"Civilians should not take the law into their own hands and investigate or create a crime where it may not exist," he said. "What is the civilian's motive. How much money are they making by sensationalizes cases that are getting hits on social media. Police are trained in legal means and methods that hopefully don’t violate citizens constitutional rights.”
We also reached out to the FBI to ask about their stance on civilian or non-law enforcement groups getting involved in arrests.
"We encourage members of the public to be good witnesses and report any information about suspicious or illegal activity to law enforcement without putting themselves in harm’s way or taking any kind of active role," Jim Marshall, a public information officer for FBI Miami, said.
