Convicted child rapist and volleyball player Steven van de Velde is BANNED from Australia ahead of competition

Convicted child rapist and volleyball player Steven van de Velde has been banned from coming to Australia to compete next month.

Van de Velde was barred from competing against Australia on 'character grounds'.

The volleyballer was convicted of child rape ten years ago when he was 19 after he raped a 12-year-old girl after contacting her on social media and travelling to Britain to meet her.

Prosecutor Sandra Beck said at the time: 'She describes that she had met Steven Van de Velde on Facebook, they spoke regularly through that and he made her 'feel special'.

'She certainly made it clear she was seven years younger than him,' she said.

'This relationship over social media was taking place over a period of time.'

'You had the possibility of a stellar future representing the Netherlands,' the judge said during sentencing in 2016. 'She was a child aged 12. You were fully aware of that fact.'

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 but served just 13 months after admitting to three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl. 

Van de Velde made a comeback to volleyball and competed in the 2024 Olympics, which sparked international controversy.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas voiced his outrage at the prospect of a convicted child rapist being allowed to compete in the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide.

The SA attorney-general Kyam Maher wrote to the federal government urging it to ensure the Dutch player was not allowed to enter the country.