All Episodes

December 30, 2024 88 mins
To Catch a Predator Dustin McPhetridge FULL Police interview

"I thought you was wantin' to be shaved...down there."

-Dustin showing that Barber-ism begins at home.

Dustin Jacob McPhetridge appeared on the Bowling Green, Kentucky investigation of To Catch a Predator. He is most known for his disability, as well as his outrageous demands while in prison.

Dustin McPhetridge was 26 when he arrived at the sting house with the hope of meeting a thirteen year old girl named "Laura" that he thought he was chatting with online. He had a twisted and sordid chat with the girl wanting to shave her privates, get her drunk and have rough anal sex with her. Dustin, the consummate gentleman, gave Laura a choice on where to put his sperm first (mouth, pussy, or ass). He also wanted her to wear a pair of panties for 2-3 days straight and then send them to him. He even sent a picture of a couple having sex. The icing on the cake was when he said that he wanted to have a threesome with her EIGHT year old sister. [1]

After a four hour drive, Dustin waddled into the house with an electric razor and KY Jelly and tried to coax the decoy over to do all the twisted things he had on his mind. He instead got to meet Chris Hansen. Dustin went right into victim mode blaming the girl for the situation, saying she led him on.

After his arrest, Dustin pulls every pity string he can ranging from his disability to his weight to getting bullied with Sgt. Dudinskie, the officer in charge of his interview. Dudinskie fires back with details of his chatlog that showed Dustin to be a very disgusting predator that hid behind his disability. [2]

He was sentenced to five years in prison for traveling across state lines to meet a minor for sex. He was also sentenced to eight years for possession of child pornography. The sentences ran concurrently but because Dustin wasn’t convicted on the CP charge until two years after his first conviction, he actually ended up with a ten year sentence.[3] Dustin was released on lifetime federal sex-offender probation and now helps to run a convenience store in Surgoinsville, Tennessee.

Behind the scenes
Dustin has cerebral palsy. He demonstrated before, during, and after the sting his devious behavior of using his disability to garner sympathy as well as escape trouble. Casey and the lead KBI investigator even said they felt sorry for Dustin when he saw him struggle to enter the house, but kept in mind his reason for showing up at the house was to molest a child.

Partway through serving his sentence, he wrote a letter to his convicting judge saying he had learned his lesson and requesting that he immediately be released from serving the remainder of his sentence. If his request was denied, in lieu of release, he requested a walk-in jacuzzi in his cell. Both requests were denied.

Dustin was scheduled to be back in court February 2020 due to probation violations, mainly failing his sex offender treatment program, subsequently being kicked out, and polygraph tests asking if he had viewed child pornography since his release. A series of continuances have been given due to Dustin's health, COVID-19 concerns, and scheduling conflicts.[4] Dustin was given yet another continuance September 2021 because his family had paid vacation plans. Recent photos show that Dustin uses a wheelchair. During examination of his counselor, he revealed that Dustin has spent the most time of any offender in the program because he either refuses to own the actions that led him to this point, or makes excuses on why he can't make any positive changes in his life. Dustin also gained the ire from his peers in his classes because they believed his rehabilitation to be a waste of time. Time that could be better invested in their recovery.[5]

Trivia
Dustin apparently "doesn't like lawyers", as he revealed in his police interrogation.
Dustin misunderstood Chris when he said he wasn't law enforcement and couldn't arrest him. Dustin thought Chris meant that no arrests were going to be made, which was obviously not the case. Dustin brings this up in his interrogation, saying that he wishes Chris didn't "lie" to him about him not going to be arrested.
Dustin has a large affection for his mother (due to the fact that she talks people out of pressing charges for the things he does), requesting that she be put in custody of him during his trial. The judge denied his request.
Affectionately nicknamed “D-MAC” by fans of To Catch A Predator..
He made a handful of wrestling DVDs for professional wrestler Ricky Morton. He lost all the digital footage when cops seized his computer since it also housed his collection of CP. He also ran Morton's website. In a now infamous article on the site made a couple of months before his arrest, he pleads with the wrestling community to donate to Morton's legal fees stemming fr
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.