Florida Atlantic University’s student government on its Boca Raton campus has removed one of its members from office following his May arrest on charges that he solicited a teenage boy online and set up a meeting with him at a store in Delray Beach.
The State Attorney’s Office is scheduled to file formal charges against Christian Walden, 22, of Boynton Beach on July 2 before Circuit Judge Sherri Collins, according to court records. He is one of the latest men arrested following sting operations that a citizens group, 561 Predator Catchers, has run in southern Palm Beach County since 2022.
Delray Beach police took Walden into custody May 26 on charges of traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sexual act and using a two-way device to facilitate a felony. According to his arrest report, 561 Predator Catches led Walden to believe he was in contact with a 13-year-old boy.
FAU student government unanimously ousts member after arrest
Walden had been serving in FAU’s Boca Raton House of Representatives and as the leader of its Ways and Means Committee. He also served as the treasurer for FAU College Democrats and worked with various LGBTQ+ advocacy groups on campus.
His arrest led to an emergency meeting of the FAU House on May 29. Its other members introduced two articles of impeachment against Walden, one to remove him as chair of its Ways and Means Committee’s chair and another to remove him from student government entirely. Both passed unanimously, with the latter vote postponed because of attendance issues and taking place June 12.
Walden is free on $25,000 bond, according to court records. The county Public Defender’s Office is representing him. As a policy, it does not comment on open cases.
If convicted, Walden would face up to a minimum of 21 months in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender, according to the Florida Statutes.
On video, FAU student called meeting with teen ‘lapse in judgment’
According to his arrest report, Walden met “Justin” on the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr. They moved their conversation to text messages and arranged to meet at the Home Depot off Linton Boulevard east of Interstate 95.
Except there was no “Justin.” Delray Beach police said it was a decoy account set up by Tim Johnson of People v. Predators, a group that targets online predators, who then notified 561 Predator Catchers, an organization created by former MMA fighter Dustin Lampros.
Lampros and his camera crew confronted Walden at the Home Depot where they agreed to meet on May 26.
“How old did he really tell you? Because I have the messages,” Lampros said in a video posted to the 561 Predator Catchers YouTube channel.
“I think 14,” Walden said. “It was a lapse of judgement.”
“I mean, that’s a really big, bad judgement call,” Lampros said. Delray Beach police said they then arrested Walden at the scene.
Dustin Lampros, seen here in October 2024, leads the 561 Predator Catchers group. It has staged sex-predator stings in Delray Beach-area stores and played a role in the recent arrest of an FAU student.
The Lavender Alliance, an LGBTQ+ group Walden was a part of at FAU, condemned his actions in a prepared statement it released on Instagram.
The group said it wanted “to make it clear that predatory people have never and will never have a spot in our community. … Effective immediately, all connections to Christian have been dissolved.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida student government leader ousted after sex-predator arrest
