A Dutch beach volleyball athlete was booed after he was still allowed to play in the Olympic Games despite being convicted of raping a 12-year-old.

Convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde was booed as he entered the beach volleyball court during the Netherlands’ opening match at the Olympics.

Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016  after “admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl.”

Velda and his teammate Matthew Immers lost their match to Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula.

Dutch Olympian who r*ped a 12 year old girl gets BOOED as he arrives to compete in a volleyball match during the Paris Olympics.

Steven van de Velde flew to the UK to meet a 12 year old before r*ping her in 2016.

He was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to 4 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/s4ilcacnZk

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 28, 2024

Check out what AP reported:

Steven van de Velde, the Dutch beach volleyball player who served time in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old girl,received a mixture of boos and applause when he was introduced before losing his opening match on Sunday at the Paris Olympics.

Van de Velde did not speak to reporters after the three-set loss to Italy, a break with a longstanding IOC policy. “He’s not here because he just wanted to rest his mind about it and just focus on the game,” said teammate Matthew Immers, who said he did not notice the crowd reaction.

Dutch team spokesman John van Vliet said the decision to shelter Van de Velde was made by the national Olympic committee and shared with the International Olympic Committee. Asked if they were protecting a convicted child rapist, he said: “We are protecting a convicted child rapist to do his sport as best as possible and for a tournament which he qualified for.

“The general matter of sex conviction and sex-related crime is definitely a more important issue than sport,” Van Vliet said in the mixed zone after the match. “In his case, we’ve got a person who has been convicted, who did his sentence, who did everything afterwards which he can do to be able to compete again.”

Convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde made his Olympic beach volleyball debut to a mixed reaction in Paris, with audible boos.

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl.

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024

BBC added more:

Convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde made his Olympic beach volleyball debut to a mixed reaction in Paris, with audible boos.Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl.

He and volleyball partner Matthew Immers are ranked 10th in the world but lost 2-1 to Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula, ranked 25th, at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

The pair were introduced to the crowd together, with cheers as well as some boos as they walked out.