Cyclist Van der Poel pleads guilty, convicted, and fined for assault on teenage girls
9/26/2022 4:51:50 PM

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, has pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault to two teenage girls and was fined $969.89.

Van der Poel was detained on the night of the world championship road race in Wollongong.

Van der Poel pleaded guilty on Monday and was charged with $969.89, $ 644.56 for one charge and $322.28 for the other.

Van der Poel was convicted with two counts of common assault after a verbal and physical altercation with two teenagers aged 13 and 14.

The girls were reportedly kept knocking on the Dutch cyclist’s door several times and running away. 

Van der Poel eventually got irritated and pushed them "with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall, causing a minor graze to her elbow.”

The hotel management notified the police of the incident, and the father of the two teenagers filed a complaint against Van der Poel. 

Van der Poel was arrested around 10:30 PM.

“It's true, yes. There was a small dispute. It was about noisy neighbors and they are quite strict here," Van der Poel confirmed. 

Van der Poel's lawyer, Micahel Bowe, said that his client would be appealing the conviction. 

Van der Poel was allowed to leave Australia after he was handed back his passport.

The Dutch cycling federation said they and Van der Poel would not provide a comment regarding the incident.

Courtesy: Fourth Estate

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