The Hague, Netherlands — A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted and jailed eight years ago for raping an underage girl in Britain has qualified for the Paris Olympic Games. Steven van de Velde and partner Matthew Immers were one of two Dutch men's teams to qualify for the beach volleyball competition at the Paris Games, which open on July 26 in the French capital.
Most beach couples qualify for the 24-team Olympic field by earning points on the international tour; Van de Velde and Immers were 11th on the points list.
“I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract international media attention,” Van de Velde said in a statement posted on the Dutch Volleyball Federation's website. “I can't undo it, so I'll have to take the consequences. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
BSR/Getty Agency
Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain after being convicted in 2016 of raping a 12-year-old girl he met on Facebook, according to CBS News affiliate BBC News. He was transferred back to the Netherlands under a treaty between the countries and allowed to serve his sentence there, but was released after 12 months.
The BBC said that after communicating with the girl online, Van de Velde traveled from Amsterdam to England to meet her in 2014. He was convicted of three counts of rape of a minor two years later, and he was placed on a permanent BBC sex offender register. UK
“After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counseling. He has shown those around him — privately and professionally — self-awareness and reflection,” the federation said.
He added that both the federation and the Olympic Committee of the Netherlands “rely on the opinions of experts who consider the possibility of recidivism to be nil”.
The Dutch Olympic committee said Van de Velde, now 29, met the conditions required to return from a conviction and resumed racing in 2017 “after an intensive professionally supervised process”.
“Van de Velde now meets all qualification requirements for the Olympics and is therefore part of the team,” the committee said.
The international volleyball federation said it “recognizes that this is a very sensitive matter”, but said the selection of the teams is the responsibility of the national Olympic committee “while respecting the eligibility criteria”.
