Olympics 2024 athlete Steven van der Velde has been booed by the crowd after being allowed to compete at the Paris Games despite his conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl. The 29-year-old is representing the Netherlands, with his country opening their tournament by facing Italy in Pool B.
Van der Velde has partnered with Matthew Immers, with the duo taking on Italian pairing Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula at the Eiffel Tower stadium.
But fans in Paris and around the world are clearly unhappy that he hasn’t been banned from the Olympics, with spectators at the venue making their views known by booing his name after he was introduced at the start of the match.
Van der Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a girl from Britain.
The volleyball player travelled from his home in Amsterdam to the UK in August 2014 after meeting the girl on Facebook and raped her at an address in Milton Keynes.
He was made to serve just 12 months of his sentence, before being allowed to resume his volleyball career. And last month he was chosen to represent the Netherlands team at the Olympics 2024.
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The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) have already come under fire for allowing Van der Velde to compete in Paris. But NOC defended the decision after explaining the player had been selected “following a specialist treatment programme”.
The organisation added: “Van de Velde has fully engaged with all requirements and has met all the stringent risk assessment thresholds, checks and due diligence. Experts have stated that there is no risk of recidivism.
“Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life. He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved.”
And the NOC then told the BBC: “After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counselling. He demonstrated to those around him – privately and professionally – self-insight and reflection.”
Van de Velde has previously been defended by Netherlands team chief Pieter van den Hoogenband, who said: “He’s not going to downplay it (his conviction). We have to respect that and help him as a member of the team to be able to perform.”
But UK-based The Survivors Trust told Yahoo News: “The rape of a child was planned, calculated involving international travel and will undoubtedly cause his victim lifelong trauma, irreversibly changing the course of her life.”
And Rape Crisis England & Wales chief Ciara Bergman added: “If you can rape a child and still compete in the Olympics, despite all athletes signing a declaration promising to be a role model, that is just shocking.”
