Dutch beach volleyball player who served time for rape has qualified for Paris Olympics

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in Britain has qualified for the Paris Olympics. Steven van de Velde and partner Matthew Immers were one of two men’s teams from the Netherlands that qualified for the beach volleyball competition. Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain after being convicted in 2016 of having sex with an underage girl he reportedly got to know online. He says he will bear the consequences of the biggest mistake of his life. The sport’s governing bodies say he has met all the requirements to compete at the Paris Games.