Olympics crowd boos convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde at beach volleyball
The 29-year-old, who has been selected by the Dutch Olympic Committee, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016
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Your support makes all the difference.Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, was greeted by some boos on his Olympic debut in Paris.
Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl.
He served just 12 months of his sentence and some fans at the Olympic competition in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower voiced their disapproval.
There was a mixed response for Van de Velde with cheers as well as boos greeting his arrival alongside teammate Matthew Immers for their match against Italian pair Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula.
Unlike his fellow competitors, there were no cheers when Van de Velde was introduced to the crowd with some boos again clearly audible.
Van de Velde met his victim on Facebook and travelled from Amsterdam to the UK in 2014 and raped the girl at an address in Milton Keynes.
He is understood not to be staying in the Olympic Village at his own request and will not conduct the usual post-match mixed zone interviews.
The Dutch Olympic Committee maintain Van de Velde has been successfully rehabilitated and deserves his place in the squad.
But Rape Crisis England & Wales has said his inclusion at the Games is “shocking”.
The International Olympic Committee has faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024, but insists it has no plans to prevent the Dutchman from competing at the Games.
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