Convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde booed as he makes Olympic debut

The convicted child rapist taking part in this year’s Olympics was met by boos this morning (28 July).

Steven van de Velde has made his debut at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games as he competes in the preliminary phase of the beach volleyball men’s tournament. There has been a significant amount of controversy around his selection for the Netherlands team.

In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014. The now 29-year-old had met her on Facebook and travelled from Amsterdam to the UK to meet her, with full knowledge of her age.

Van de Velde at the Olympics this morning. (LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

The athlete served just one year of his sentence before being transferred to his home country where he was released after a month.

And after calls for him to be removed from the games, there was a mixed response when he arrived at his first beach volleyball game today.

Showing up with his teammate Matthew Immers for their match against Italians Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula, there were both cheers and boos from the crowd.

But unlike his fellow competitors, there was no cheering when Van de Velde was introduced to the crowd with some boos again clearly audible.

It is understood the convicted child rapist is not staying in the Olympic Village with the majority of other athletes at his own request, and will not be conducting the usual post-match mixed zone interviews.

The Dutch Olympic Committee maintain Van de Velde has been successfully rehabilitated and deserves his place in the Netherlands squad.

There has been controversy surrounding his selection. (Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

However, with much backlash from the public, Rape Crisis England & Wales has described his inclusion at the games as ‘shocking’.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024, but insists it has no plans to prevent the Dutchman from competing at the Games.

The BBC reports that the IOC has said individual committees are responsible for the selection of athletes for the Olympics.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said: "They have put out a statement, they've made it very clear there's a lot of safeguarding going on, special extra safeguarding."

LADbible contacted the IOC for further comment.

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.