Dutch seaside volleyball participant Steven van de Velde is allowed to attend the 2024 Paris Summer time Olympics regardless of his earlier conviction for raping a minor however is banned from the athlete’s village for the occasion, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to 4 years in jail in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old lady he met on-line when he was 19. Regardless of being launched in 2017, the repercussions of his actions proceed to hang-out him as he competes on the world stage.
Security considerations have escalated as Van de Velde certified to characterize the Netherlands on the Olympics,
In response, following the Dutch Olympic Committee’s directives, he won’t reside within the Olympic Village and abstain from media interactions.
Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission for the Dutch Olympic Committee, said: “The adjustments to Van de Velde’s lodging had been obligatory … We’ve to respect that and assist him as a member of the group to have the ability to carry out.”
The choice to permit Van de Velde to compete within the video games has stirred public outrage, with human rights teams expressing their discontent.
A petition urging the Worldwide Olympic Committee to ban recognized intercourse offenders from collaborating has gained vital traction, amassing near 81,000 signatures.
Van de Velde’s title is reportedly nonetheless on the U.Ok.’s intercourse offenders registry as of July 25.
Within the wake of the sexual encounter in 2014, Van de Velde suggested the lady, whose identification has not been made public, to get a morning-after capsule.
A warrant was issued for Van de Velde’s arrest after employees at a household planning clinic alerted the lady’s household and the police due to her age.
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In 2016, he pleaded responsible to 3 counts of raping a toddler.
Van de Velde informed NOS in a TV interview one yr after his launch: “I made that alternative in my life after I wasn’t prepared. I used to be form of misplaced and now I’ve a lot extra life expertise.”