An athlete who sexually assaulted a minor faced controversy as he competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics for the Netherlands’ beach volleyball team.
On the 28th, 29-year-old Stevan van de Velde participated in a qualifying match against Italy in Group B.
However, when he appeared, the audience responded with boos. It was because of his conviction for sexually assaulting a minor.
In 2014, he faced charges in a British court for assaulting a 12-year-old girl he met on social media. He received a four-year prison sentence in 2016. Due to the extradition treaty between the two countries, van de Velde was sent back to the Netherlands. However, Dutch authorities reclassified his offense as a misdemeanor for indecent conduct. He reportedly was given a year sentence.
After such criticisms, the Dutch Olympic Committee banned Van der Velde from entering the athletes’ village. He was also prohibited from interacting with other athletes or the media.
Andrea Syslos, a 47-year-old lawyer from Italy, criticized him in an interview with Reuters, saying: “It’s not a good thing. Sporting justice should be harsher than civil justice.
“Maybe he shouldn’t still be in prison, but it’s not normal that he is playing in the Olympics where he should be an example for other people,” he said.
However, his teammate Matthew Immers defended him, noting, “What’s in the past is in the past. He had his punishment, and now he is really kind. For me, it is an example of how (he) grew and learned a lot from it.” Van der Velde and Matthew Immers lost their first match against Italy with a score of 1-2.
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