Convicted Rapist to Play in Paris Olympics 2024: Dutch Volleyball Player Steven van de Velde, Who Was Found Guilty in Rape Case, Set to Represent Netherlands
Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl, has controversially qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Despite serving just 12 months of a four-year prison sentence for three counts of rape, Van de Velde has resumed his athletic career.
Amsterdam, June 27: Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl, has controversially qualified for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Despite serving just 12 months of a four-year prison sentence for three counts of rape, Van de Velde has resumed his athletic career.
Velde was 19 when he travelled from Amsterdam to Milton Keynes in August 2014 to have sex with a girl he knew was just 12. Judge Francis Sheridan remarked that Van de Velde's aspirations of representing the Netherlands at the Olympics were shattered by his criminal actions. On Road to Paris Olympic Games 2024, Top Athletes Hope To Excel in National Inter-State Athletics.
Van de Velde was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court after being extradited from the Netherlands. His defence lawyer, Linda Strudwick, said of the verdict: "The headlines say it all: 'A sex monster.' It's plainly a career end for him." Paris 2024: From Deepika Kumari to Tarundeep Rai, a Look at India’s Six-Member Archery Squad for Paris Olympics 2024.
Judge Sheridan emphasised that Steven van de Velde's actions had devastatingly altered his life trajectory, lamenting that without committing the offenses in England, he could have risen to a leadership role in his sport. He characterised the victim as a young, naive child who wrongly believed in his affection, despite their relationship being solely online and their significant age gap being clear to him from the outset.
Van de Velde, sentenced in 2016 and released in 2017, expressed a desire to correct what he called misinformation about his case. He claimed he was unfairly labeled a "sex monster" and "paedophile," asserting his innocence. Now 29 years old, Van de Velde has returned to competitive volleyball and is part of the 11th-ranked team globally, despite the controversy surrounding his participation in the Olympics.
Nonetheless, Van de Velde has been selected to compete in Paris next month alongside Matthew Immers in the national beach volleyball pair, sparking widespread criticism and debate.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2024 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).