Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was charged and convicted of the rape of a 12-year-old, will be competing in the Paris Olympics with the backing of the Dutch Volleyball Federation and Dutch Olympic organizers. In 2016, van de Velde, now 29, was convicted of rape after having sex with an underage girl in England, the said in a statement posted to its website and Van de Velde and his partner, Matthew Immers, qualified to represent the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Van de Velde has been competing in international volleyball tournaments since 2017, according to the federation, also known as Nevobo.
In a statement on Nevobo’s website, van de Velde addressed the renewed attention to his past. The statement did not address the person he raped, who has not been publicly named. “In 2016 and afterwards, several Dutch media also paid attention to the story.
I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the attention of international media,” he said in a statement. TODAY.com reached out to the Dutch Volleyball Federation for further comment from the organization and van de Velde but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Van de Velde about his conviction to NOS, a Dutch public broadcasting organization, in 2018. “I did what I did. I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences,” he said.
“It has been the biggest mistake of my life. It’s a huge mistake, no one will deny that sid.