A Dutch Olympic volleyball player convicted of raping a British girl a decade ago has been denied a visa to compete in Australia.
Steven van de Velde, 31, was due to play at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, South Australia, next month.
In 2016, the then 21-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of raping a 12-year-old girl in Milton Keynes and was sentenced to four years in jail. He had met the girl on Facebook and travelled to England from Amsterdam before raping her in her home in 2014.
Two weeks ago, South Australia's Attorney-General Kyam Maher wrote to the federal government, calling on authorities to reject his visa as his crimes were utterly abhorrent. The letter also stated, we do not believe that foreign child sex offenders should be granted entry to this country.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke emphasized the government's commitment to using every tool available to ensure the safety of Australians.
After the rape in 2014, Van de Velde returned to the Netherlands but was extradited to the UK in 2016. He served 12 months of his sentence and returned to professional sports in 2018, representing the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics last year, where he faced public outcry. An online petition for his ban from the Olympics had gathered 90,000 signatures.
The BBC has reached out to the championship organizers in South Australia and the Dutch national volleyball association for comment.
