Who is Steven Van de Velde? Convicted child rapist cries in first interview after being booed at Paris Olympics
Steven Van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a child, sobbed publicly in his first interview following his controversial participation in Paris Olympics.
Steven Van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a child, broke down in tears in his first interview following his controversial participation in 2024 Paris Olympics.
The rapist volleyball star, 30, served just one year jail out of a four-year sentence for the rape of a 12-year-old British girl.
In 2014, the Dutch athlete was convicted on three charges of sexually abusing the child in Milton Keynes. He was chosen because national selectors believed he had paid his dues and secured an early release from prison.
However, van de Velde did not receive a warm response in the French city, and on August 4, he and his partner Matthew Immers were eliminated at the round of 16.
Speaking to a Dutch newspaper over a week after his tournament departure, he said that he thought about not competing at all in the Olympics and unexpectedly slammed the media for their coverage of the case.
“I definitely thought about it, yes. I did something wrong, ten years ago. I have to accept that,” the Dutch athlete lamented during the interview.
“But hurting people around me - whether it's Matthew [his volleyball partner], my wife, my child... that just goes too far for me. That's definitely a moment where I thought, is this worth it?” he added.
On his participation in the Olympics, the IOC claimed it was helpless to prevent the Netherlands from sending a participant who qualified through the regular channels, despite calls from victim's advocates for van de Velde to be excluded from the games.
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Who is Steven Van de Velde?
In August 2014, Van de Velde, 19, raped a 12-year-old British girl at a home in Milton Keynes. Later in 2016, he was sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty in the case.
He, however, resumed his volleyball career after serving 12 months in prison, despite a judge issuing him a stern warning that his sentence was “career ending.”
After being released from prison, Van de Velde has effectively turned his life around to the point where he is currently married to German volleyball player Kim Behrens, a well-known professional. The couple got married in 2022 and share a son.
Behrens, an athlete and police officer, adores her six-foot-six husband and frequently shares romantic photos of their life together on social media.
