A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.
Steven van de Velde, 29, and his partner, Matthew Immers, secured their spot in the upcoming Games, topping the Dutch rankings for the country’s two men’s beach volleyball spots.
“I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the attention of international media,” Van de Velde said in a statement posted on the Netherlands Volleyball Federation’s website. “I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.”
Van de Velde was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in Milton Keynes, a city outside London, in 2014. He was released in 2017 after serving one year in prison in the Netherlands.
According to court testimony, he had flown from Amsterdam to the UK when he was 19 to meet his victim, a girl he knew was just 12. The court heard that he had gone to the home of the victim, with whom he had communicated on social media before arranging to visit while her mother was out, and had taken her virginity before flying back home.
