Who is Steven Van de Velde? Dutch child molester plays beach volleyball at the Olympics | World News

The beginning of the Olympic Games was marked by the controversial appearance of a child molester on the beach volleyball court.

Steven van de Velde was greeted with boos from the audience when he Olympic Debut on Sunday in Paris.

Who is he, what has he done and what has been said about his participation in the Games?

Who is Steven van de Velde – and what has he done?

Steven van de Velde is probably the most controversial athlete to appear at the Paris Olympics.

The 29-year-old Dutch beach volleyball player is a convicted child abuser.

In 2014, when he was 19 years old, raped a 12-year-old British girl.

He met his victim via Facebook, travelled from Amsterdam to the UK and attacked the girl at an address in Milton Keynes.

Conviction and prison sentence

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016.

The Milton Keynes Citizen reported that he appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court via video link at the time of his sentencing and cried when he heard that his victim had self-harmed and overdosed.

After serving part of his prison sentence in England, he was sent back to the Netherlands where his sentence was adjusted to Dutch law.

In total, he spent 13 months in prison in Great Britain and the Netherlands.

What did Dutch officials say?

The Dutch Volleyball Association (Nevobo) said van de Velde had “proven himself to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return”.

They added that he had their “full support” and had sought professional counselling following his release.

The country’s Olympic Committee, meanwhile, said van de Velde had met all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games “and was therefore part of the team.”

What did the International Olympic Committee say about this?

A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) echoed the Dutch comments and reiterated what national officials had said about the additional security measures in place.

“I don’t want to excuse it in any way, but that happened, I think, ten years ago and I think we should basically allow the possibility of rehabilitation,” said Mark Adams at the IOC press conference on the day of van de Velde’s debut.

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.

What did van de Velde say about this?

In a statement released by Nevobo, van de Velde said: “I understand that this may attract international media attention in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world.”

“I can’t undo it, so I’ll have to face the consequences. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Read more at Sky News:
Olympic athletes and coaches face controversy
Organizers defend opening ceremony

What were the reactions?

Van de Velde was booed as he was introduced to the crowd before his match against Italian pair Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula – although there was some applause for his teammate Matthew Immers upon their arrival.

Rape Crisis England & Wales described his participation in the Games as “shocking”.

In a statement to Sky News, The Survivors Trust said: “The fact that Van de Velde has been allowed to continue his career after admitting ‘the biggest mistake of his life’ is further evidence of the shocking tolerance we show towards child sexual abuse.”

“The rape of a child was planned, calculated, involved international travel and will undoubtedly leave its victim with lifelong trauma and irrevocably change the course of her life.”

“As a society, we must begin to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards this heinous and costly crime.

“His lack of remorse and empathy for his victim is appalling and the fact that his colleagues and the Olympic Committee are allowed to present him to a young audience as an athlete to look up to is deeply disturbing.”

Van de Velde stayed away from reporters

Van de Velde did not speak to reporters after the three-set loss to Italy, breaking a long-standing IOC policy.

“He is not here because he simply wanted to calm his mind and just concentrate on the game,” said his teammate Immers, who said he did not notice the crowd’s reaction.

The Dutch Olympic Committee has also moved him from the Olympic Village to alternative accommodation.

Dutch team spokesman John van Vliet said the decision to give shelter to van de Velde was made by the National Olympic Committee and communicated to the International Olympic Committee.

When asked if they would protect a convicted child molester, he said: “We protect a convicted child molester so that he can play his sport to the best of his ability and compete in a tournament for which he has qualified.”

“The general issue of sexual convictions and sex crimes is definitely a more important issue than sport,” said Mr van Vliet in the mixed zone after the match.

“In his case, we are dealing with a person who was convicted, served his sentence and then did everything he could to be competitive again.”

Revival of conviction

Van de Velde had played volleyball for a while before his conviction led him to the sporting level.

During the two-year qualifying phase for the Olympics, van de Velde’s record was not an issue.

However, the team was able to regain promotion after it had moved up from number two in the Netherlands to 11th place in the world rankings, thus securing a place at the Olympic Games.

Mr van Vliet said the controversy raised came as a “surprise” to van de Velde and his teammate.

“He has played many, many tournaments with him over many, many years – the last three years. It has never been a problem,” said Mr van Vliet.

“I don’t judge whether it should have been that way or not, but it was never an issue. And now, all of a sudden, it’s a surprise to her.”