Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde will be allowed to attend the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris despite his previous conviction for raping a minor, but will be banned from the athlete’s village before the event, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old girl he met online at the age of 19. Despite being released in 2017, the consequences of his actions continue to haunt him. competes on the world stage.
Safety concerns have escalated as Van de Velde qualified to represent the Netherlands at the Olympic Games.
In response, following the guidelines of the Dutch Olympic Committee, he will not stay in the Olympic Village and will refrain from media interactions.
Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission of the Dutch Olympic Committee, said: “The changes to Van de Velde’s accommodation were necessary… We must respect that and help him perform as a member of the team.”
The decision to allow Van de Velde to participate in the Games has led to public outrage, with human rights organizations expressing their dissatisfaction.
A petition calling on the International Olympic Committee to ban known sex offenders from competing has gained significant popularity, collecting nearly 81,000 signatures.
Van de Velde’s name is reportedly still on the British sex offenders register as of July 25.
Following the sexual encounter in 2014, Van de Velde advised the girl, whose identity has not been made public, to get a morning-after pill.
An arrest warrant was issued for Van de Velde after staff at a family planning clinic alerted the girl’s family and police because of her age.
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In 2016, he pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child.
Van de Velde told NOS in a TV interview a year after his release: “I made that choice in my life when I was not ready for it. I was a bit lost and now I have so much more life experience.