Dutch volleyball player who was jailed for raping a 12-year-old British girl 'will NOT stay at the Athletes' Village at Paris Olympics' amid backlash over his participation at the Games
- Steven van de Velde travelled from the Netherlands to the UK to meet the girl
- He was jailed for four years but was released after serving a year of his sentence
- His volleyball partner, Matthew Immers, is understood to be staying in the village
A convicted sex offender Olympian who raped a 12-year-old girl has opted not to stay in the athletes' village at the Games in Paris, according to a report.
Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde was jailed for four years after he flew from the Netherlands to the UK to meet the schoolgirl in August 2014 after the pair started chatting on Facebook.
The sportsman, who was 19 and knew how young the girl was at the time, was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape. He was released in 2017 having only served a year of his sentence.
But despite the judge at the time telling Van de Velde his promising career was a 'shattered dream', the volleyball player is set to return to limelight after sealing his spot at the Paris Games.
He will, however, according to BILD, not stay with other athletes in the Olympic Village as is tradition, instead stopping in other accommodation in Paris.
Convicted sex offender Olympian Steven van de Velde will not stay in the Athletes' Village at the Olympic Games
The Dutch volleyball player was sentenced to four years in prison for raping a 12-year-old British girl
He travelled to the UK from the Netherlands and carried out the act, serving one years of his sentence
'I cannot undo what happened and I must accept the consequences,' the now-29-year-old said after his conviction. 'It was the biggest mistake of my life.'
Van de Velde's partner in the volleyball team, Matthew Immers, is understood to be staying in the village and he will be the one to attend media duties after matches.
The report states that the player will, however, look to speak to the media before the competition to explain his inclusion.
'At that time, the considerations and conditions for his return to the elite sport level were determined by the Dutch Volleyball Federation (NeVoBo) and NOC*NSF partly on the basis of the "NOC*NSF Guidelines Integrity Record". These guidelines set out, e.g., the conditions under which athletes can return on elite sport level after conviction.
In a statement, the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation said there was no reason to exclude Van de Velde from taking part at the Games.
'Since 2018, Steven van de Velde has been participating in international beach volleyball tournaments again following an intensive, professionally supervised trajectory,' a spokesperson told Mail Sport.
'Meanwhile, Steven van de Velde has met all qualification criteria for the Olympic Games and is therefore included in the group of athletes who formally passed over on July 4 from the Dutch national federations to NOC*NSF, who then becomes responsible for them during the Olympic Games.'
Van de Velde's partner, Matthew Immes, is set to stay in the Village and conduct media duties
Now-29-year-old Van de Velde was 19 at the time and knew the girl's age with the two starting chatting on Facebook
The International Olympic Committee, which governs the Games, said: 'The nomination of individual team members, following qualification on the field of play, is the sole responsibility of each respective National Olympic Committee. Therefore, we would refer to the Dutch NOC for any further information.'
Van de Velde and Immers are currently ranked 10th in the world.
