The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing scrutiny ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris over one particular athlete’s inclusion. Steven van de Velde is set to represent the Netherlands in beach volleyball in the Olympics, which start on Friday, July 26. Van de Velde is also a convicted sex offender, and reportedly still has his name listed in the U.K.’s sex offender registry.
Van de Velde’s inclusion in the Olympic Games is being met with outrage among advocates for sexual assault survivors, who are demanding an investigation into why he’s allowed to compete and have said this allowance sends the wrong message to men that rape has no consequences.
However, the IOC responded to the demands to leave van de Velde out of the Games by saying that the selection of athletes is not up to the international committee, the decision is up to each individual national committee. The Dutch Olympic Committee has thrown its support behind van de Velde and said that he has done everything necessary since his conviction to earn the right to be an Olympian.
While it may be up to national committees to decide which athletes compete on their teams, the British and Australian Olympic Committees maintain that they would never allow a known sex offender to compete for their countries.
Advocates for sexual assault survivors expressed outraged over van de Velde’s set appearance in the Olympic Games. Critics reportedly said that van de Velde showed a “chilling” lack of remorse for his crime and believe it negatively affects survivors of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Olympic officials have advised van de Velde to stay outside of the Olympic village in Paris in order to avoid publicity.
Van de Velde maintains that he is a changed man since the crime occurred in 2014.
The athlete reportedly raped a 12-year-old girl in the U.K. when he was 19 years old. Investigators said that van de Velde had communicated with the girl online before deciding to travel to the U.K. to visit, and subsequently sexually assault her. He served a year in a Britain prison before being transferred and given a lighter sentence in the Netherlands.
At the time of his sentencing in 2016, the judge told him that his hopes of representing his country “now lie as a shattered dream.” Van de Velde was released from prison in 2017.
However, it appears van de Velde was able to rebuild that once “shattered dream.” The Dutch Olympic Committee maintains that van de Velde deserves a second chance, and asserted that there is no risk of “recidivism” from him.
