Convicted Of Rape Entering The Dutch Volleyball Squad At The 2024 Olympics

Steven van de Velde, convicted of rape, joined the Dutch team squad at the 2024 Paris Olympics (doc. Wikimedia Commons).

JAKARTA Steven van de Velde, a rape convict, entered the Dutch beach volleyball squad which will appear at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The decision from the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC/NSF) to include Steven sparked disappointment from several women's advocacy groups.

Kate Seary, founder and director of Kyniska Advocacy, an institution that works for the protection of women, strongly condemned the decision of the Dutch Olympic Committee.

"His participation (Steven van de Velde) sent a message to everyone that the greatness of the sport defeats evil," he said.

Steven van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in England in 2016 after the rape of a 12-year-old girl. The case occurred in 2014 when the perpetrator was 19 years old.

Steven was then transferred to the Netherlands after serving part of his sentence there. He then continued his remaining sentence in the Netherlands in accordance with the legal norms in force in the country.

In 2017, Steven again competed in beach volleyball before being announced last month into the Dutch Olympic team.

The head of the Dutch contingent, Pieter van den Hoogenband, said that the Dutch NOC had taken steps to reduce the impact of Steven's participation, including prohibiting him from speaking to the media.

"We have to respect that and help him as a team member to be able to perform," he said.

Van den Hoogenband further said that the wave of criticism shocked him because Steven van de Velde was actively defending the Netherlands in international events, including playing in the World Cup and European Championships.

"You can see that things are different at the Olympics. Everything is enlarged ahead of the Olympics," said Van den Hoogenband.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Mark Adams, confirmed that they had no authority regarding the decision to Steven to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics or not. All decisions, he said, were in the hands of each national committee.

"They have issued a statement. They have made it very clear that there is a lot of security being done, extra-special security," Adams said.