Convicted rapist Steven van de Velde was booed on Sunday as he made his debut at the Paris Olympics in the beach volleyball competition.

Before losing his opening match against Italy, Dutch athlete Van de Velde was introduced to a mixture of jeers and cheers. He served time in prison for rape.

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Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain in 2016 following the rape of a 12-year-old girl two years earlier when he was 19.

After serving part of his sentence there, he was transferred to the Netherlands and has been competing in beach volleyball again since 2017.

When Van de Velde first took the sand for warmups, there weren’t many jeers; but, during the more formal pre-match introduction, there were more jeers. All of the players who have shown up at the Eiffel Tower Stadium for the Summer Games so far, including his teammate Matthew Immers, have been met with enthusiastic applause.

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The International Olympic Committee said on Saturday it was satisfied with explanations given by the Netherlands Olympic team regarding the participation of Van de Velde.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the committee was not totally comfortable with the situation but that “a crime occurred 10 years ago, a great deal of rehabilitation has taken place and strong safeguarding is in place.”

The Dutch team have taken steps to mitigate the impact of Van de Velde’s participation by moving him to alternative accommodation in Paris and not the athletes’ village. There has also been a ban imposed on him talking to the media.

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Van de Velde’s next match is on Wednesday, against Chile.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Getty