Dutch Team Admits They're "Protecting" Convicted Child Rapist Steven van de Velde

Steven van de Velde, representing the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics for beach volleyball, received a mixed reaction upon arriving. Audible boos were heard from the crowd when the athlete's name was announced.

Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. The athlete admitted to taking a cheap flight from Amsterdam to North London in 2014 after the two communicated online for several months. Initially, Van de Velde believed the girl was 16, but she eventually informed him she was only 12. He still decided to fly to her hometown.

Van de Velde gave the minor alcohol and then raped her multiple times, "including one instance of vaginal sex during which she complained he was hurting her," as reported by The Athletic. He urged the victim to get a morning-after pill to avoid pregnancy. The staff at the family planning clinic then alerted the minor's family because of her age.

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison, including 12 months in Britain, before getting transferred to the Netherlands under a treaty. He was released in early 2017 following a resentencing for a shorter term. After being released, he told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, “I have been branded as a sex monster, as a pedophile. That I am not — really not.”

After Van de Velde was sentenced to jail – just when his athletic career was taking off – the victim was racked with guilt and attempted to overdose. Judge Francis Sheridan told Van de Velde, “The emotional harm that has been caused to this child is enormous. As she matures, she will have to come to realize that you are not the nice man she thought you were and hoped you might be.”

Van de Velde says his crime was a result of him being a teen "still figuring things out."

Despite being a convicted criminal, the Dutch Olympic Committee and the Dutch Volleyball Federation maintain that Van de Velde's participation in the Olympics comes "after careful consideration" and that he has "consistently met" the country's standards.

“We are protecting a convicted child rapist, yes,” admitted John van Vliet, spokesperson for the Dutch Olympic Committee, after the player was excused from participating in media duties. “To do his sport as best as possible, at a tournament he qualified for.”

The committee released a statement regarding the outrage for Van de Velde's inclusion. "We are deeply aware that the renewed publicity about Steven van de Velde is causing a lot of emotion, which we fully understand, as the events at that time were very serious," it read. "A lot has happened since then. Steven served his sentence and has completed an extensive rehabilitation program with specialized professionals, including the probation service. Experts have concluded there is no risk of recidivism."

The statement added that Van de Velde deserved a second chance because he had "grown and positively changed his life."

According to the Paris 2024 website, the Olympic Charter expresses the values of Olympism: “encourage effort,” “preserve human dignity,” and “develop harmony." But I'd argue that allowing a criminal to compete, as well as enabling men to compete in women's sports, contradicts the core values of the Olympics.

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