Dutch Olympic organizers defend participation of athlete convicted of rape
The Dutch Volleyball Association and Dutch Olympic organizers stand by their decision to send a convicted rape victim to the Paris Olympics this summer to represent the Netherlands in beach volleyball.In 2014, the man, Steven van de Velde, now 29, traveled to England, where he raped a 12-year-old girl he had met on Facebook. A British court sentenced him in 2016 to four years in prison. After a year he was transferred to the Netherlands, where his sentence was modified according to Dutch law. In total, Mr van de Velde spent just over a year in prison.She later received professional psychological help, the volleyball association said.The Dutch Olympic Committee and the Dutch Volleyball Association are allowing Mr. van de Velde to compete based on the advice of experts who they say deemed...