Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of rape makes his Olympic debut on Sunday

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Steven Van de Velde, the Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in England in 2016, will make his Olympic debut on Sunday when he and teammate Matthew Immers face Italy on the sand of the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

“If an athlete or staff member had such a conviction, they would not be allowed to be a member of our team,” the head of the Australian delegation, Anna Meares, said this week.

“We have a number of athletes under 18 and under 16 and therefore these guidelines are in place to protect our team.”

Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of raping a girl he allegedly met online. He served 13 months in prison.

Following his release, the Dutch Olympic Committee announced that Van de Velde met the conditions to return to competitive sport after his conviction and resumed his career in 2017 “after an intensive, professionally supervised process”.

“Van de Velde now meets all qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team,” the committee said in a statement.

The International Volleyball Federation said it could not stop the Netherlands from sending Van de Velde to Paris after he qualified through the usual route.

Van de Velde, who is not in the athletes’ village and could not be reached by the media, said the incident was “the biggest mistake of my life”.

“I understand that this may attract international media attention ahead of the biggest sporting event in the world,” he said in a statement on the Dutch Volleyball Association’s website. “I cannot undo it, so I will have to accept the consequences.”