Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde is facing backlash over his past rape conviction as safety concerns escalate at the Paris Olympics, according to The Sun.
Van de Velde, now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old girl he met online when he was 19. He was released in 2017.
Amid the heightened attention surrounding Van de Velde’s presence at this year’s games, where he qualified to represent the Netherlands, he will not reside in the Olympic Village nor will he speak with the media, under the guidance of the Dutch Olympic Committee.
Pieter van den Hoogenband, chef de mission for the Dutch Olympic Committee, said the changes to Van de Velde’s accommodations were necessary.
“He’s not going to downplay it. We have to respect that and help him as a member of the team to be able to perform,” Van den Hoogenband said, according to The Athletic.
Last month, the Dutch Olympic Committee defended its decision to select Van de Velde to compete at this year’s Summer Games and said the athlete completed an extensive rehabilitation program.
However, his presence at the Paris Olympics has prompted anger from the public, including backlash from human rights groups, The Sun reported.
A petition calling on the International Olympic Committee to ban known sex offenders from competing has reached nearly 81,000 signatures.
Van de Velde’s name is still on the U.K.’s sex offenders registry as of July 25, according to The Athletic.
In the wake of the sexual encounter in 2014, Van de Velde advised the girl, whose identity has not been made public, to get a morning-after pill.
A warrant was issued for Van de Velde’s arrest after staff at a family planning clinic alerted the girl’s family and the police because of her age.
In 2016, he pleaded guilty to three counts of raping a child.
“I made that choice in my life when I wasn’t ready,” Van de Velde told NOS in a TV interview one year after his release. “I was sort of lost and now I have so much more life experience.”
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Van de Velde married Kim van de Velde — a German beach volleyball player who has also trained as a police officer — in 2022, according to The Athletic.
They have a 2-year-old son.
Van de Velde will pair with 23-year-old Matthew Immers in their first group-stage match in Paris on Sunday against Italy.
The Olympics begin on Friday and run through Aug. 11.
