Paige VanZant Killing It On ‘DWTS’ While Brother Is Incarcerated For Child Molestation

Paige VanZant is currently a fan favorite on Dancing with the Stars. She’s killing it in terms of the competition, and she has a good shot at winning on this season of the show. Paige is known for being a mixed martial arts fighter, and she revealed on Dancing with the Stars that she’s not too confident as a person. It was teasing and bullying that made her take up fighting, which ultimately led her to compete at the UFC level. But it sounds like Paige may be feeling less than confident being in the spotlight, as a new report suggests that she is hiding something major.

According to a new Radar Online report, Paige VanZant is supposedly hiding the fact that her brother is a convicted child molester. Apparently, VanZant’s brother is currently locked up because he tried to engage in sexual contact with a minor. Paige VanZant hasn’t said anything about her brother on Dancing with the Stars, except the fact that they used to box one another in their neighborhood.

“My brother and I used to box each other in our neighborhood,” VanZant, 22, revealed when asked what got her into fighting in the first place.

But Paige VanZant’s brother is actually a convicted child molester who is now serving time for an attempted sex attack on a 13-year-old boy. VanZant has often talked about her brother, Steven Sletten, who is 24. She personally stopped using the name Sletten a few years ago in favor of VanZant. These days, the Sletten name may not be something she’s proud of, as he’s now prisoner #19425143 at the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem, Oregon.

He has been locked up for quite some time, as he was arrested in April 2012 after a young boy told detectives Sletten had abused him more than once while visiting a friend who lived in Corvallis. The abuse had apparently started a year earlier in 2011. Paige VanZant’s brother was charged after police also found child porn on Sletten’s computer. Sletten was arrested and charged with four counts of sodomy, two counts of sexual abuse, and first-degree online sexual corruption of a minor.

In a shocking twist, Sletten took a plea deal. Paige VanZant’s brother pled guilty to attempted sodomy and attempted sexual abuse in 2013. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and five years of probation. These days, he’s aiming for an early release, which won’t take place until 2017. In other words, he’s not in the audience at Dancing with the Stars cheering for Paige.

One can understand why Paige VanZant hasn’t talked about this on Dancing with the Stars. Usually, the stars do talk about personal issues when talking about specific moments in time. For example, last year, Robert Herjavec revealed that he had contemplated suicide after learning that he would be divorcing his wife. Instead of talking about her brother, VanZant decided to talk about how she was bullied in school and how that affected her decision to take up fighting.

Plus, Paige’s brother’s actions should not be a reflection of her. VanZant hasn’t revealed whether she still talks to her brother these days. She merely said that she has fond memories of them fighting together when they were younger. These days, Paige VanZant is killing it on Dancing with the Stars, and she clearly has a great shot at winning the entire thing. Surely, fans who are voting for her will see that her brother’s actions are in no way linked to her or her role on Dancing with the Stars.

Are you surprised that Paige VanZant is keeping such a big secret?

[Image via Instagram]