Olympics bosses have received an urgent warning after allowing a child rapist to compete in the upcoming 2024 Paris games.
Steven van de Velde, 29, was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in prison after he admitted to three counts of rape against a 12-year-old child yet only served 12 months of the sentence before he was released.
The incident took place two years prior in 2014, and the athlete - who was 19 at the time - met the victim on Facebook.
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He travelled to the UK and raped the child with full knowledge of her age at an address in Milton Keynes.
And now, the Dutch Olympic Committee has announced that the convicted sex offender will be in the Dutch beach volleyball squad for the upcoming Paris Games which kick off tomorrow (26 July).
Olympics fans were left in total disbelief at the shocking decision, especially considering that it was defended by the Dutch National Olympic Committee who issued the following statement: "Already since 2017, Steven van de Velde - after an intensive professionally supervised process with, among others, the probation service - is once again participating in international beach volleyball tournaments.
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"At the time, the considerations and conditions for return to top-level sports were determined by both Nevobo and NOC*NSF [National Olympic Committee] partly on the basis of the Guideline Integrity History of NOC*NSF [National Olympic Committee], which sets out, among other things, the conditions under which athletes in top-level sports can return after a conviction.
"Van de Velde now meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team."
Following the decision, various groups have warned the Olympics bosses that allowing Van de Velde to represent his country in one of the most prestigious sporting events sends a dangerous message to rapists and other sex offenders.
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Ciara Bergman, the CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales called his inclusion 'irresponsible' an 'enormous sense of impunity', saying: "If you can rape a child and still compete in the Olympics, despite all athletes signing a declaration promising to be a role model, that is just shocking."
Bergman added: "There is always an impact on the individual victim survivor, but every act of violence against women and girls is a crime against society.
"It has a collateral and collective impact on all other women and girls."
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She also called on the International Olympic Committee to launch an investigation into how the child rapist had been allowed to compete.
"How did we get here? How did we get to a place where raping a child is seen as less important than the medal someone might win at the Olympics?" she stated. "It’s just extraordinary, I think there has to be some kind of investigation into this and how it was allowed to happen. It has to be a moment for real thinking and real change."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: News, World News, Olympics, Sport, Crime
Rhiannon Ingle