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Convicted Child Rapist Banned From Athlete’s Village At 2024 Olympics

Gillberg
Convicted Child Rapist Banned From Athlete’s Village At 2024 Olympics

Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde is allowed to attend the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics despite his previous conviction for raping a minor but is banned from the athlete’s village for the event, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old girl he met online when he was 19. Despite being released in 2017, the repercussions of his actions continue to haunt him as he competes on the world stage.

Safety concerns have escalated as Van de Velde qualified to represent the Netherlands at the Olympics,

In response, following the Dutch Olympic Committee’s directives, he will not reside in the Olympic Village and abstain from media interactions.

Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission for the Dutch Olympic Committee, stated: “The changes to Van de Velde’s accommodations were necessary … We have to respect that and help him as a member of the team to be able to perform.”

The decision to allow Van de Velde to compete in the games has stirred public outrage, with human rights groups expressing their discontent.

A petition urging the International Olympic Committee to ban known sex offenders from participating has gained significant traction, amassing close to 81,000 signatures.

Van de Velde’s name is reportedly still on the UK’s sex offenders registry as of July 25.

In the wake of the sexual encounter in 2014, Van de Velde advised the girl, whose identity has not been made public, to get a morning-after pill.

A warrant was issued for Van de Velde’s arrest after staff at a family planning clinic alerted the girl’s family and the police because of her age.

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In 2016, he pleaded guilty to three counts of raping a child.

Van de Velde told NOS in a TV interview one year after his release: “I made that choice in my life when I wasn’t ready. I was sort of lost and now I have so much more life experience.”

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