In a shocking turn of events at the Paris Olympics, a convicted rapist of a minor British girl was allowed to step on the Olympic field and represent his country, the Netherlands, at the mega event. The controversial incident came to the fore before world media when Steven van de Velde, a Dutch beach volleyball player, faced a loud booing noise from the audience as he entered the court for the opening match against Italy on Sunday (28th July 2024).
Steven van de Velde committed the heinous crime against a minor British girl when he was 19 years of age. In 2014, he contacted the minor victim through Facebook and then travelled to Milton Keynes from the Netherlands. After meeting her, he raped the 12-year-old British girl after intoxicating her.
It was established in the court that he had full knowledge of her age, yet he sexually assaulted the minor. He pleaded guilty to three counts of child rape. Subsequently, he was sentenced to four years at Aylesbury Crown Court in 2016.
However, Van de Velde served only 12 months in a UK prison as he was then transferred to his home country, the Netherlands, where he was released after a few months of jail time. He was released in 2017 and has continued playing beach volleyball right away. The controversial athlete was named to the Dutch Olympic team last month.
While the convicted rapist has been allowed to represent his country, the victim reportedly has not been able to recuperate from the trauma ever since, indulging in self-harm and drug overdose.
Boos -and some applause – as Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19, enters the Stadium with his partner Matthew Immers. The boos were more audible when he was later introduced separately #PARIS2024 pic.twitter.com/yJGjxXKzE9
— Alexandra Topping (@LexyTopping) July 28, 2024
During their opening match against Italy on Sunday, the audience made loud booing noise as the stadium announcer at Champs de Mars Park announced his name.
Dutch side defends their athlete
The National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands said that he has served his sentence and completed an extensive rehabilitation program. The experts also claimed that there was no risk that the Dutch player would again commit such a crime.
The Dutch Olympic committee had told World Volleyball that he had shown “self-insight and reflection“. They claimed that he has consistently met their “high standards” and fully engaged with their requirements to compete. They added that he remained transparent throughout the last 10 years.
His 22-year-old volleyball partner Matthew Immers described him as “like a second father” with whom he feels “comfortable” with.
Furthermore, the country’s team boss, Pieter van den Hoogenband, said that he was “surprised by the fuss” over the inclusion of the convicted child rapist. He said “measures” have been taken including housing him away from the athletes’ village.
The convicted rapist, Steven Van de Velde, has been kept in a high-security hotel away from the Olympic village
Since there is no age limit at the Olympics and athletes as young as an 11-year-old girl are also participating in the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Federation did not take the responsibility of accommodating the convicted criminal in the Olympic Village.
He has been banished from the Paris Olympics athletes’ village as there was a massive outrage over his inclusion in the athlete pool for this year’s Olympics games. In protest against his inclusion, more than 81,000 people had signed a petition demanding that all known sex offenders should be banned from the Olympics indefinitely.
Earlier, when he arrived in Paris by train, a huge security team surrounded him and they took him away to an alternative hotel room in the capital. Reportedly, the Olympic Committee of the Netherlands has accommodated him in a hotel on their guarantee.
BBC panellist apologies for wishing him ‘best of luck’ earlier
During an interview, BBC sports expert and former Olympian Paula Radcliffe shockingly wished him ‘best of luck’. She had defended her act saying that she wished him good luck because he had turned his life around and is married.
Speaking to LBC, Paula had said, “It’s a tough thing to do to punish him [van de Velde] twice and if he’s managed to successfully turn his life around after being sent to prison and to qualify and be playing sport at the highest level, then I actually wish him the best of luck.”
However, her remarks triggered a social media outage and she faced massive criticism for wishing good luck to a convicted rapist of a minor girl child. After facing massive backlash, Radcliffe apologised for her remarks.
— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) July 25, 2024
Issuing an apology, she said, “I want to sincerely apologise and emphasise how much I categorically condemn the crime of rape. I am ashamed that my words so inaccurately represented myself. It was a mistake not to clearly denounce this at the beginning.”
Meanwhile, contrary to convicted rapist Steven van de Velde’s case, another athlete Charlotte Dujardin was not allowed to take part in Paris Olympics 2024 as she was caught whipping her horse ‘24 times’ in footage four years ago. She is rightly facing an investigation by the sport’s governing body and her public funding has been axed. Additionally, she has now been dropped as an ambassador for a horse charity.
While the sporting body acted tough in her case, Dutch beach volleyball rapist Steven van de Velde’s presence has marred the mega event. His presence at the Paris Olympics 2024 has disgraced the sporting event as it is a major setback for the world in setting a deterrence against criminals, especially those who commit heinous crimes against minors.
