Dutch beach volleyball pro, Steven Van de Velde, is currently facing the heat as prior convictions for sex with a minor resurface following his qualification for the Paris Olympics.
For those who’ve missed media coverage of the issue, here’s the lowdown. 👇
What’s the backstory on Steven Van de Velde?
According to the BBC, Van de Velde met his victim — a 12-year-old British girl — on Facebook.
In August 2014, despite the child revealing her age during their online conversations, he flew from Amsterdam to Milton Keynes in the UK to meet her.
Steven van de Velde in 2018 via @volleybalnl:
— David Challen (@David_Challen) June 27, 2024
“I was a teenager, still trying to figure things out.”
He was 19, an adult, and the victim told him she was 12…
He flew to visit her, plied her w/alcohol in a hotel and raped her. Zero mention of empathy to the victim in this ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rzKxWqyq6A
As reported by the Milton Keynes Citizen, Van de Velde proceeded to give his victim alcohol and request oral sex, before taking her virginity in her sister’s bedroom.
Owing to Van de Velde’s lack of condom use, he advised the 12-year-old to get the morning-after pill once the ordeal was over.
Thankfully for the victim, it was this visit to a family planning clinic that alerted the authorities to the crime.
Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in the UK before being extradited to the Netherlands one year into his sentence.
His sentence was then adjusted to Dutch standards, NU.nl reports, and Van de Velde was released.
Van de Velde’s big return has garnered mixed reactions
Despite widespread criticism, the Dutch Volleyball Association (Nevobo) released a statement voicing its unwavering support for Van de Velde.
In the words of Nevobo general director, Michel Everaert: “We have been in constant contact with Steven, who has now been fully reintegrated into the Dutch volleyball community.”
“He is proving to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return.”
“We fully support him and his participation in Paris, which he and Matthew have earned.”
(Warning ⚠️: Distressing themes) Thousands are signing a petition calling on the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Steven van de Velde, a Dutch volleyball player who in 2014 was convicted of r*ping a 12-year-old girl.
— Change.org (@Change) July 2, 2024
The Dutch Olympic Committee and the Dutch… pic.twitter.com/9WlgDqvblK
Yet, as Trouw reports, this decision “will inhibit progress on safety and create mistrust among athletes towards the systems put in place to protect them”.
In a joint statement to the International Olympic Committee, the Sport & Rights Alliance (a coalition of nine human rights organisations), Kyniska Advocacy (a British organisation for protecting women in sport), and The Army of Survivors (an organisation aimed at ending sexual assault against young athletes) have called to ban van de Velde from the games.
A Change.org petition has also been created to disqualify Van de Velde from the upcoming Olympic games.
What do you think of Steven Van de Velde — a sex offender — representing the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Image: Maarten van Hassel/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0
Total disgrace for the Dutch judiciary system and particularly for the Dutch Olympic committee. An exemplary professional and a human??? May God punish you. And the UK should know better than exctradicting children’s rapists to the country with so crooked laws.
The fact that is sentence got reduced on the fact that the 12 year old victim consent, so it was not rape, left a very bad taste.