Convicted Dutch rapist booed on Olympics beach volleyball debut

PARIS :There were boos, and mixed feelings amongst the crowd, as Netherlands beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a convicted rapist, made his Paris 2024 debut for a game in bright sunshine at the feet of the Eiffel tower on Sunday.

His team, however, were unapologetic about van de Velde taking part in the Olympics, saying "the past is in the past" and that the matter should not be brought up at the Games.

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain in 2016 following the rape of a 12-year-old girl two years earlier when he was 19.

He spent 13 months in prison - one year in Britain and one month in the Netherlands - before being freed there after what he did was re-classified under Dutch law as a lesser offence of "committing indecent acts" and his sentence was reduced.

Van de Velde has been competing in beach volleyball again since 2017.

He was booed several times during Sunday's match, though there was also applause from other members of the crowd.

Among the spectators, Melissa Gautier, a 23-year-old health worker, said she thought van de Velde should not be there.

"Being an athlete shouldn't give you a free pass," she said.

Andrea Syslos, a 47-year-old lawyer from Italy, did not know about the case, but when told about it said: "It's not a good thing. Sporting justice should be harsher than civil justice.

"Maybe he shouldn't still be in prison but it's not normal that he is playing in the Olympics where he should be an example for other people," he said.

But van de Velde's teammate Matthew Immers brushed away the criticism over the now 29-year-old taking part in the Olympics.

"What's in the past is in the past. He had his punishment and now he is really kind. For me it is an example that (he) grew and