A Dutch beach volleyball player, who raped a 12-year-old British girl, has qualified for next month's Paris Olympics despite being told by a judge that his dream of representing the Netherlands was "shattered."
Steven van de Velde was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in prison after admitting to three counts of rape against a child he met on Facebook. In August 2014, at the age of 19, he flew from the Netherlands to the UK to meet his victim, the Telegraph reported.
Judge Francis Sheridan told him, "Prior to coming to this country you were training as a potential Olympian. Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream."
However, Van de Velde, who was released after serving only 12 months in a Dutch prison, has since been permitted to rehabilitate his Olympic career. This month, he secured his spot in the national pair for the Paris Games alongside Matthew Immers.
Upon sentencing at Aylesbury Crown Court after being extradited from his homeland, his defense lawyer, Linda Strudwick, commented on the verdict: "The headlines say it all: 'A sex monster.' It's plainly a career end for him."
It has proven otherwise, as Van de Velde, now 29, has successfully rebuilt his beach volleyball career to the extent that he and Immer are now ranked as the 11th team in the world heading to Paris next month.
Van de Velde's resurgence poses a significant ethical dilemma for the International Olympic Committee. Each Paris Olympian is required to sign an Athletes' Rights and Responsibilities Declaration, which includes a mandate to "act as a role model."
Having travelled from Amsterdam to Milton Keynes to engage in sexual activity with a 12-year-old girl, a fact acknowledged in strong terms by the judge in 2016, Van de Velde had previously communicated with the victim on social media before arranging the visit, during which he took her virginity while her mother was away.
"Your actions have wrecked your life and you could, had you never come to England and committed these offences, have been a leader in your sport," Judge Sheridan said. "A young, naive, foolish child had formed the view that you loved her. In reality, you only knew her on the internet, had never met her before and were fully aware of the age difference."
Upon his release in 2017, having served only a quarter of his sentence, Van de Velde, who had cried in court upon learning about the girl's subsequent self-harm and overdose, stated: "I want to correct all the nonsense that has been written about me while I was imprisoned. I deliberately didn't read any of it, but I understand it was quite severe, branding me as a sex monster, as a paedophile. That I am not, really not.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion about me, but it's only fair if they also hear my side of the story."
These remarks elicited a scathing response from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which stated: "Van de Velde's lack of remorse and self-pity is astonishing, and we can only imagine how distressed his victim must feel upon seeing his comments.
"Grooming can leave a child feeling ashamed or even guilty, because they believe they have somehow willingly participated when, in reality, an adult has preyed upon them for sexual exploitation."
The Dutch Olympic committee has not yet commented on Van de Velde's qualification for Paris. According to The Australian, the country's volleyball federation has yet to finalize its athlete selections. The IOC has been contacted for a response.
