Volleyballer convicted of child rape faces isolation at Paris Olympics

Netherlands’ Steven Van de Velde (L) spikes the ball against Brazil’s Evandro during the volleyball Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 final match in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 5, 2024. (Photo by EVARISTO SA / AFP)

A Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted in 2016 of raping an underaged girl will be isolated from his teammates at the Paris Olympics and banned from talking to the media, officials said Sunday.

Steven van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl, according to British newspaper The Telegraph in a recent report.

He served part of his sentence in Britain and was then transferred to the Netherlands, where he was eventually released and took up volleyball again in 2017.

READ: What we know about the Paris Olympics opening ceremony

In order to “establish calm”, the Dutch Olympic Committee decided Sunday that Van de Velde would also not be allowed to enter the Olympic Athletes Village, Dutch press agency ANP reported.

According to the Dutch Volleyball Federation, he admitted to having made “the biggest mistake of (his) young life”.

“I cannot go back, so I will have to bear the consequences.”

The Dutch Olympic Committee and the country’s volleyball federation said they had consulted experts who judged there is “zero chance” of Van de Velde reoffending.

READ: Paris Olympics nears gender parity: athlete gender breakdown at a glance

Former swimming star and head of the Dutch delegation to the Paris Games, Pieter van den Hoogenband, said he was “surprised at the agitation around” the athlete.

“He has been active in international sport and the world of beach volleyball for a long time,” Van den Hoogenband told broadcaster NOS.

“He has participated in World Cups, European Championships and World Cups, but you see that around the Games it is different. Things are amplified around the Games.

“We have taken good steps together. All the athletes are dear to me and I try to support them,” said the former swimmer, who believes Van de Velde is “holding on strong despite the turmoil”.