THE Dutch Olympic Committee has defended its decision after selecting a child-rapist athlete to play in the country's volleyball squad at this year's Paris games. The sports board has insisted disgraced volleyball star Steven van de Velde will represent the Netherlands despite having been jailed for raping a year-old British girl.
After the move sparked outrage, the committee said the criminal had shown "self-insight and reflection" 10 years after the horrific case. At 19 years old, Van de Velde flew from his native Netherlands to the UK to meet his year-old Brit victim after grooming her on Facebook in The girl told her family she was staying with a friend and snuck out to meet with the sports star at a hotel.
When they couldn't make a booking, they later returned to the victim's empty home where they had sex. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment after admitting to three counts of rape against the child. Judge Francis Sheridan said to him at the time: "Prior to coming to this country you were training as a potential Olympian.
But the volleyball athlete has now been selected to play as part of the Paris Olympic team with the decision being blasted as a "shameful appointment. Since his release, the Dutch Olympic Committee has reportedly supported his Olympic ambitions along with his presence in Paris, despite the uproar. The committee said: "Since , Steven van de Velde has been participating in international beach volleyball tournaments again following an intensive, professionally supervised trajectory,.
He demonstrated to those around him β privately and professionally β self-insight and reflection. But the International Olympic Committee has sought to distances itself from the controversy.
