Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted of rape to make Olympic debut

Warning: This story contains distressing  details related to sexual assault.

Steven Van de Velde, the Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted in 2016 of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in England, will make his Olympic debut Sunday when he and teammate Matthew Immers meet Italy on the sand at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

Van de Velde's presence in Paris has drawn negative attention to the sport with a beach party vibe and a venue that is quadrennially one of the Summer Games' most festive atmospheres. Advocates for rape victims and some Olympics officials have said he should have been left at home.

"If an athlete or a staff member had that conviction, they wouldn't be allowed to be a member of our team," the head of Australia's delegation, Anna Meares, said this week. "We do have a number of athletes under 18 and under 16 and so those policies are well in action for safeguarding of our team."

Now 29, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of raping a girl he reportedly got to know online. He served 13 months in prison.

After his release, the Dutch Olympic committee said Van de Velde met the conditions to return to competition after a conviction and resumed his career in 2017 "after an intensive professionally supervised process."

The International Volleyball Federation said it was powerless to stop the Netherlands from sending Van de Velde to Paris after he qualified in the usual way. Van de Velde, who is not staying at the athlete's village and has not been available to the media, said after earning his Olympic berth that the incident was "the biggest mistake of my life."

"I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the