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Dutch Olympic team ‘protects’ convicted child molester Steven van de Velde while teammate supports him

Theo

Steven van de Velde is representing the Netherlands in men’s beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics, but his inclusion has sparked controversy due to his past.

Steven van de Velde’s participation in the Olympic Games was widely condemned(Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

The Dutch Olympic team has admitted to “protecting a child molester.” Steven van de Velde represented his country in the men’s beach volleyball competition in Paris.

Van de Velde was arrested and found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19 years old. He was sentenced to four years in prison. The Dutch Olympian was released after serving one year of his sentence. Today he is 29 and a father himself. Van de Velde wears his country’s colors on the Olympic stage in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and competes in beach volleyball.

His entry onto the field was met with boos from the Parisian crowd. His inclusion in the team was defended by the Dutch Olympic team. Press spokesman John van Vliet explained: “We are protecting a convicted child molester, yes. He should play his sport as well as possible, in a tournament for which he has qualified.”

All Olympians are required to be available for media inquiries, but special arrangements seem to have been made for Van de Velde because of his past. “It’s definitely a different situation for Steven,” Van Vliet continued.

“We are very conscious that when we bring Steven here, it will not be about sport or his performance. There was a time before, at least 100 tournaments in beach volleyball, where this was never mentioned. He never had to do anything about it.

So we wanted to create the environment that we are used to and not make it something special on a stage that is even bigger for these players.”

Steven van de Velde represents the Netherlands despite being a convicted child molester(Getty Images)

Since Van de Velde is not available for the media, his teammate Matthew Immers will take over all post-match duties. Regarding his partner’s past, Immers said: “He has had his punishment.

“And now he’s really nice. For me, this is a great example of how you can grow. What happened in the past is obviously not good.”

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