Steven van de Velde will take part in the Olympic Games in Paris despite being convicted of child rape

No punishment for her attacker – not the four years he was sentenced to, and certainly not the 13 months he served – can change that. What thoughts must she wake up with every day? Let’s hope they are bright, happy and forward-looking. But who can say?

At the Olympic Games in Paris, the rapist is the centre of attention. His name is Steven van de Velde and he is representing the Netherlands in beach volleyball – in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, in a breathtaking setting that combines the booming bass of modern sport with the sky-high ode to the French Revolution – because the Dutch Olympic officials have made a decision.

He had served his time, they said. He was remorseful, they said. He had earned the place, they said.

When asked what it looks like to protect a child abuser, Jon van Vliet, a spokesman for the Dutch team, said: “We are protecting a convicted child abuser so that he can play his sport as well as possible and for a tournament for which he has qualified.”

Read these words again if you can.

“We are protecting a convicted child molester so that he can practice his sport to the best of his ability.”

On Sunday morning, under the first blue sky of these games, van de Velde and his playing partner Matthew Immers entered the clay court with the tower in the background. The stands were almost full. When the stadium announcer introduced him – “At a huge The 1.98 meter tall Mr. … Steven … makes his Olympic debut. van de Velde!” – isolated boos rang out throughout the venue, which is one of the most boisterous events of the Games every four years.

“I didn’t hear it,” said Immers. “I think the crowd is far away, too. So you hear a lot of cheering.”

In the first set, the now 29-year-old van de Velde and Immers were close to victory when their Italian opponents …

Come on. None of this matters. This guy shouldn’t be here.

Here’s a rundown of the facts, and we’ll try to keep it brief: In 2014, when he was 19, van de Velde met an English woman on Facebook. He flew to her hometown northwest of London, raped her, and then advised her to get the morning-after pill. When she tried, the clinic alerted the authorities.

When the judge sentenced van de Velde to four years in prison, he told him that this would “clearly mean the end of his career”.

He served a year of his sentence in England before being transferred to the Netherlands, where he served a further month.

From then on… Take charge, Dutch Olympic officials.

“Van de Velde has fully complied with all requirements and adhered to all strict risk assessment thresholds, controls and due diligence,” the Dutch Olympic Committee wrote in a statement before the competition. “Experts have stated that there is no risk of reoffending. Van de Velde has always remained transparent about the case, which he describes as the most serious misstep of his life. He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved. He has spoken openly about the personal transformation he has undergone as a result.”

Yes, it is possible to get a second chance and to improve. Van de Velde has a wife and a child. He is free and living his life. Isn’t that enough?

“I think Steven is a really good example the way he is now,” Immers said in English after their opening match. “I really enjoy playing with him. What’s in the past is in the past. He had his…” and here he searched for a word before van Vliet, standing next to him, said: “Penalty.”

“Punishment,” Immers began, “and now he’s really, really nice. For me, that’s a great example of how much you’ve grown.”

Everyone is for growth. Should that include the right to search for gold?

“The lifelong consequences for the child he raped,” wrote the Brave Movement, a global organization that seeks to end sexual violence against children, in an open letter about van de Velde’s case. “Perpetrators move on. Those who abuse them seek healing and justice. We need a world that centers on survivors, not perpetrators.”

The International Olympic Committee had said before the Games began that the decision on whether van de Velde could compete would be up to the Dutch. Dutch officials clearly knew this would be a problem, because they made sure van de Velde stayed outside the Olympic Village and did not require him to go through the “mixed zone,” the area at each venue where athletes can be approached by the media. He has not commented publicly.

“We are here to create an environment for all our athletes to perform well,” said van Vliet. “We were aware that this would be a special situation, so we took our own measures to enable them to play as well as they can in the best environment for them.”

The Netherlands has made different decisions about who should and should not represent their country. Joost Luiten, a 38-year-old veteran of the DP World Tour, met the qualifications to play in the men’s Olympic golf tournament. He wrote on social media that the Dutch federation would not send him because they did not think he had a good chance of a high finish. He went to court and won – but by that time, International Golf Federation officials had already given his place to another player.

We know for whom the Dutch Committee will make special arrangements and for whom it will not.

On Sunday, van de Velde and Immers lost to two Italians. On Wednesday, they will next face a team from Chile. The focus will be back there.

But when that game is shown on television, forget about the competition. Think about the girl, not the then 19-year-old who abused her. Think about the survivors of similar atrocities who might be triggered just by hearing his story and watching him perform. For them, the Olympics are not a reason to celebrate. They are a reminder of their own suffering.