The Hague the Netherlands — A Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted and jailed in Britain eight years ago for raping an underage girl has qualified for the Olympic Games in ParisSteven van de Velde and partner Matthew Immers were one of two men’s teams from the Netherlands that qualified for the beach volleyball competition at the Paris Games, which start on July 26 in the French capital.
Most beach couples qualify for the 24-team Olympic field by earning points during the international tour; Van de Velde and Immers were 11th on the points list.
“I understand that this could attract the attention of international media in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world,” Van de Velde said in a statement on the website of the Dutch Volleyball Association. “I can’t undo it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
BSR Agency/Getty
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’ partner network BBC News. He was transferred back to the Netherlands under a treaty between the countries and was 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 in 2014 to meet her. Two years later, he was convicted of three counts of rape of a minor and placed on a permanent prison sex offender registry. Britain
“After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional guidance. He demonstrated self-awareness and reflection to those around him – privately and professionally,” the federation said.
It added that both the federation and the Dutch Olympic Committee “rely on the opinion of experts who consider the risk of recidivism to be nil.”
According to the Dutch Olympic Committee, the now 29-year-old Van de Velde met the conditions to return after a conviction and resumed his career in 2017 ‘after an intensive, professionally supervised process’.
“Van de Velde now meets all qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team,” the committee said.
The International Volleyball Federation said it “recognizes that this is a very sensitive issue” but said team selection is the responsibility of the national Olympic Committee “subject to the eligibility criteria.”
