Steven van de Velde, a Dutch Olympic volleyball player convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2014, has been denied a visa to compete in Australia. The 31-year-old athlete was scheduled to participate in the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide next month. However, South Australia’s Attorney-General Kyam Maher urged the federal government to reject his visa, describing his crimes as ‘utterly abhorrent’ and emphasizing that foreign child sex offenders should not be allowed entry into the country. Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke affirmed the government’s commitment to using all available tools to ensure community safety. Van de Velde, who pleaded guilty to three counts of rape in 2016, served 12 months of a four-year sentence before resuming his professional career in 2018. Despite representing the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics last year, he faced public backlash, including boos from the crowd and an online petition with 90,000 signatures demanding his exclusion from the event. The BBC has reached out to the event organizers and the Dutch volleyball association for comments.
Dutch volleyball player and convicted child rapist denied visa to compete in Australia
