A Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl was booed by the crowd at the Paris Olympics where he has been allowed to compete.
Steven van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for an attack on a 12-year-old British girl two years earlier when he was 19.
He served just 12 months of his sentence and has been allowed to represent the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics despite his conviction.
But as he was introduced at the start of his match, crowds booed the athlete, making their feelings known, though some Dutch fans did cheer for the player.
Here is everything you need to know about the controversy surrounding van de Velde.
Who is Steven van der Velde
Steven van de Velde is a Dutch beach volleyball player who has previously represented the Netherlands at the 2015 European Games and the 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
In August 2014, then aged 19, he raped a 12-year-old British girl he had met on Facebook after travelling to her home in Milton Keynes. Van de Velde returned to the Netherlands but was eventually extradited to the UK and arrested in January 2016.
In March that year, he pleaded guilty to three counts of child rape at Aylesbury Crown Court and was sentenced to four years in prison. As part of a treaty between the Netherlands and the UK, van de Velde was transferred to the Netherlands to serve his sentence and was released after serving one year.
At his original sentencing, the judge said his hopes of representing his country had been left a “shattered dream”, saying: “Plainly it is a career end for him.”
But that would not appear to be the case. The Dutch Volleyball Association allowed van de Velde to resume his career as a beach volleyball player and he was chosen to represent the Netherlands team at this year’s Olympics, with the Dutch Olympic Committee saying the 29-year-old is successfully rehabilitated.
However, he is understood not to be staying in the Olympic Village and is not conducting the usual post-match mixed zone interviews.
What was the reaction?
There were boos from the crowd as van de Velde was introduced alongside playing partner Matthew Immers, though some Dutch fans did cheer for him.
After the match, he was ushered away from waiting media. Asked if they were shielding him, the Dutch team’s press attache John van Vliet said: “We are protecting a convicted child rapist, yes. To do his sport as best as possible, at a tournament he qualified for.”
Campaigners have spoken out about the 29-year-old’s inclusion at the games, with Rape Crisis England & Wales branding it “shocking”. Several groups called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban van de Velde from participating in the games, including the Athletes Network for Safer Sport.
Network coordinator Joanna Maranhao reportedly said: “Athletes who compete at the prestigious level of the Olympic Games are often perceived as heroes and role models – van de Velde should not receive this honour.
“In contrast to what the Dutch NOC experts argue about the low risk of recidivism, his qualification for the Games should also be scrutinised through a moral lens. His participation is already causing further harm to people with lived experience.”
What happens next?
Van de Velde and his partner lost their match against Italy but will next take on Chile on Wednesday (31 August) before competing against Norway on Friday (2 August).
In the run-up to the games, the International Olympic Committee faced calls for an investigation into how the convicted rapist had been allowed to compete, but it said it was satisfied with explanations given by the Netherlands Olympic team on the inclusion of van de Velde.
