Crowd loudly boos convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde at Olympics

globalnews.ca:

Beach volleyball player and convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde was heartily booed by the crowd during his first two matches at the Paris Olympic Games.

Van de Velde’s inclusion on the Dutch Olympic team sparked outrage ahead of the Games, with women’s rights advocates and sports fans alike questioning why the admitted rapist is being allowed to compete at one of the most important sporting events in the world.

In 2016, Van de Velde pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old British girl he met online. He spent 13 months in prison, with 12 of those months in the U.K. and one month in the Netherlands.

Despite his lawyers lamenting at trial that Van de Velde’s then-burgeoning athletic career was over, the beach volleyball player almost immediately jumped back into competing for the Netherlands. He was back playing internationally in 2017, months after being released from prison.

The Netherlands Volleyball Federation has stood by Van de Velde amid the controversy, and has defended his inclusion on the Dutch Olympic team.

“After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counselling. He has demonstrated to those around him — privately and professionally — self-insight and reflection,” the federation said. “Van de Velde now meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team.”

Calls to remove Van de Velde from the Olympics have been loud on social media. The crowds at both of Van de Velde’s matches so far have been similarly loud.

The 29-year-old Olympic rookie was greeted with a handful of boos when he first took the sand for warmups ahead of his first match against Italy. The jeering was louder for the more formal prematch introduction, though there was some