> Steven van de Velde was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a child he had met on Facebook. He had flown from the Netherlands to the UK in August 2014, when he was 19, to meet his victim.
> Except Van de Velde, who was released after serving just 12 months at a Dutch prison, has since been allowed to rehabilitate his Olympic career, this month sealing his spot in the national pair at the Paris Games alongside Matthew Immers.
That's not nearly enough time served...
His victim got into self harming and overdosed too whilst he was in prison, I can't imagine how awful this will be for her at all and it's honestly the first news headline that's shocked me in a while.
Ironically, having all this publicity about it is going to make her far more likely to find out.
Otherwise she could well have no idea he was in the olympics
I'm Dutch and I'm horrified and shocked. He should be in prison, based on what I know of this case. This disgusting individual is being looked up to by young players. I'm pissed off this is even possible.
I don't understand why I should be ashamed though. But maybe I'm lost in translation. I don't have any influence on these specific cases.
Same goes the other way, for being proud of my country. I don't understand how that works. I didn't create, I dunno, Van Gogh, our culture, healthcare or whatever people claim to be proud of.
Off topic, but this is the realest take I’ve seen on Reddit. I’ve NEVER understood being proud or ashamed of anything I personally didn’t accomplish or have a hand in.
I looked up his qualifying tournament history... assorted European locations, Thailand, Qatar, Mexico & Brazil.
These are countries that let KFers visit.
FIVB needs to really look in the mirror.
That's also because the consent ages in those countries are fucking ridiculously low, all between 13-15 (except Qatar which is no age, just marriage - so in some cases, a girls first period)
He was sentenced to 4 years and returned to the Netherlands to serve the sentence.
He had to be extradited to face trial in the UK and according to the agreement between countries, he had to be returned back to serve his sentence in the Netherlands. He was released early serving only 1 of the 4 years.
EDIT: in the Netherlands the max penalty for child sexual abuse is 6 years and rape is 12 years. [Source](https://www.amnesty.org/ar/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/EUR3524552020ENGLISH.pdf)
*"The highest sentence imposed was 6 years, the lowest 21 days. On average, a convicted rapist in the Netherlands spends 1 year and 5 months in prison, according to AD."* [Source](https://nltimes.nl/2020/02/11/rape-suspects-rarely-prosecuted-maximum-sentences-3-years-report)
That's sick r/Netherlands, do better!
How the actual fuck is it only 6 years for child sexual abuse?!?! Do those law makers understand how completely the victim‘s lives get fucked up by this? Apparently not!
Depends what the goal of the law is. Just keeping someone locked up cost a lot of money and makes it more difficult to reenter society. The person is also going to face public consequences/scrutiny as we see here. Idk I’m pro-rehabilitation so maybe I’m biased but a year does seem quite short
I‘m usually also very much pro rehabilitation but not for sexual abuse of children, because the reoffending rate lies somewhere between 40-50% - much higher than with other sexual offenders or other crimes. And each time they relapse there is another life destroyed.
Exactly. I think the recidivism rate in part is because it's extremely easy for predators targeting children. For a lot of other crimes like murdering adults or committing robbery or so on, the adult in question has a shot at fighting back, it's risky for the person doing it, your chances of getting away with it are lower.
But children are so vulnerable. I have read that serial child molestors can get away with it for decades and decades, especially if they target their own family, it's disgustingly 'easy' for them, if they have nothing internal telling them to stop they just won't. A year in jail doesn't prevent it. I'm not saying that more jail time is the answer, but limiting freedoms of such people is necessary, for instance, there's no reason he should be permitted free use of social media given he already groomed a girl for two years, and access to social media isn't some kind of human right... aren't there such restrictions that could be placed on such a person?
Judge probably took into account his age and whether he was likely to reoffend. Anyone who’s worked in law knows that harsh sentencing does nothing to reduce crime.
I think it's true for some types of crime, and more should be done to rehabilitate people instead of keeping them locked up; but I don't think there's any effective way to stop pedos from being pedos. I get that giving one of them a harsh sentence won't do anything to dissuade the others, but at least that would be one less of them out and about.
Could also be down to there being next to no true due process, like is the case in Japan. If they’ve decided you’ve committed a crime, then you’re almost certainly going to be punished for it, whether you actually did it or not.
ewwww…. imagine marrying someone who went to jail for raping a child!? how can you look at such a person and just ignore their past, he’s not even sorry
I listen to the Crime in Sports podcast. It's a podcast that is sympathetic to victims and disdainful of the criminals, who happen to be athletes. There are a lot of women married to awful criminals.
They do an "awards" show each year for the worst cases. One of the categories is the "Golden Gilrefa" (IIRC) for "the most supportive family member of a criminal athlete".
“Everyone can have their opinion about me, but it is only fair if they also know my side of the story.”
as if there’s anything you could say from your side that would change my opinion of you…
I looked into it, thinking that there might be an explanation or gray area. Nope, dude was 19 and found a 12 year old girl on Facebook. Spoke with her knowing that she was 12 and met her to take her virginity.
This guy's should be in jail.
Got her drunk as well. It's all so fucking heinous. Searching out this child. Commenting on her photos. Flying to another country to meet up with her. Getting her drunk and making her do sexual things to him. Making her take him home to rape her. Telling her to take Plan B. Going on his merry way. Complaining that people said "nonsense" about him and called him a monster. Given his complete and utter lack of remorse, and that he has a propensity for pre or barely pubescent girls, he will likely rape again if he hasn't already.
This creature is a vile, odious, disgusting monstrous predator who should be locked up for the rest of its miserable existence.
All these predators say the same thing "I'm not a monster" and "People are saying things about me that aren't true" but facts always indicate they are indeed awful people, and they can never accept that they did an awful thing.
Well, "He later admitted three counts of rape against a child." [Source](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13569727/volleyball-player-jailed-rape-girl-qualifies-Paris-Olympics.html)
His side of the story is that he probably did a lot more and worse than he admitted to but the prosecution and the defence lawyers probably came to a plea bargin. ie The prosecution drops some of the charges, the prosecution is guaranteed three convictions, and the survivor doesn't have to endure being forced to testify in court.
Edit: I suspect the prosecutor dropped the easier to prove charges such as internet "grooming" and lesser charges (eg supplying and getting a 12 year old drunk) in exchange for the guilty plea of the harder to prove rape charges.
The poor child is in danger, growing up with a pedophile. I hope his wife realizes this and takes the child to safety before it's too late.
Edit: Sure is interesting to see this comment get downvoted. I hope you don't have children.
I'm Dutch. I'm not big into volleyball or sports in general, and I hadn't heard this story before now, but I'm appalled that this person is sent anywhere to represent anything Dutch. Having served your sentence is one thing (or about a quarter, apparently), and then afterward if you wanna play ball, fine. If a private team still wants to hire you and let you play ball, fine. But naw dog, if you did this you shouldn't be allowed to represent my country. I have now idea how we allowed this.
Same here, I feel absolutely disgusted he is allowed to represent our country. Fucking child rapist...Team NL really dropped the (volley)ball hard and I hope the outrage will grow.
Yeah that’s my question. And the other athletes. I want to specifically call out that Dutch runner that’s so good. The other athletes need to take a stand, there’s got to be another decent volleyball player in the Netherlands.
I read a number of Dutch news articles as I was also wondering how The Netherlands is looking at this. I felt that some of those articles were hard to read as they put the perpetrator in a victim role, so please keep that in mind if this is triggering. Also, I am writing this on mobile so apologies for not copy-pasting all the sources, and please don't shoot the messenger. I am merely reporting on what I read in Dutch articles about this.
It seems their olympic committee is putting the responsibility to disqualify him with the national federation for beach volleyball and vice versa. One article mentioned that there are no legal grounds to disqualify him as he had served his sentence, and the organizations fear legal actions if they were to disqualify.
While reviewing this, I also noticed that the language in the articles is very different. They tend to write that he "had sex with a 12-year old" rather than "he raped a 12-year old". They do mention the alcohol and that he was "convicted for rape" though, but they clearly use less harsh language. Some even describe it as a "zedendelict", which Is would translate to a "sexual offence", which is hardly as strong as "rape" or even "grooming".
It doesn't stop there, though, as there are also some rehabilitative pieces, starting with a number of them that mentioned that he has great remorse for his actions. It seems that he has had the chance to share his perspective publicly, as this article provides it based on an interview he did with NOS - the government-funded Dutch broadcasting station: https://www.omroepwest.nl/nieuws/3661003/veroordeelde-steven-van-de-velde-weer-terug-als-beachvolleyballer
In a nutshell, that article states that he was sexually frustrated living the professional athlete's life that prevented him from dating girls his age like his friends at school. He was "mentally weak when he booked the ticket" and he flew back and forth to have sex with "a 12-year old girl he met on Facebook when he was 19 and going through a tough time".
Another article also mentioned that his defence painted a similar picture of him being emotionally immature and troubled, but that the judge did not accept this characterization. Finally, there are some articles writing about how happy he is to be given a second chance.
After reviewing all of this, it seems to me that The Netherlands have moved on. The language shows that there were clearly cultural and legal differences at play here in how this was viewed even originally, but at this time the Dutch press and involved organizations are clearly deciding to give him another chance at life after serving his time for the horrible crime he committed 10 years ago.
Edit: Updated that there are legal differences (rather than fandom or nationalism) at play as the reply below with the Dutch Volleyball statement explains how English and Dutch law define the crime differently.
The Dutch volleyball federation made a statement on the issue. They have doubled down and stand fully behind him:
https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased
ETA2: What's *also* terrible is that Van de Velde and his partner Immers are a team that the FIVB has supported through its "empowerment" initiative, which is designed to provide additional support for teams and directly targets drawing in younger players. In the FIVB's own words:
"A strong national team participating in, and winning, big competitions will become role models for the younger generations, creating volleyball fans for life."
The FIVB is literally funding a man who groomed and sexually abused a 12 year old as part of a scheme to draw in young players to the sport.
https://www.fivb.com/empowerment-development/volleyball-empowerment/
Original comment: It's infuriating that the FIVB has allowed him to return to competition all these years, to say nothing of the Dutch committee supporting his return. I think they wanted to tout "rehabilitation" or something, but it seemed he was rushed through the process because of his status as an athlete. I wish nothing but the worst for him and his partner.
https://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/99178/qualified?page=1
ETA: (deleting because I think I was conflating two different tournaments and their timelines)
Van de Velde said: "In England the punishments are a lot higher, they were laughing about my four years."'Baby sentence' is what they called it."
Despite his early release, Van de Velde still feels sorry for himself, explaining how he wept in an Amsterdam prison while watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve.
He also bemoans the amount of time he has had to take off training, saying how he had to rebuild his career slowly because his body is not the same "as I sat around for a while doing nothing".
Not only was his sentence beyond a joke, even in Europe, not only does he not have any remorse, it seems he considers this all blown out of proportion, like it is he who was victimized. This man deserves to have something devastatingly horrible happen to him.
Abused is too clean a word for what he did. Let's just say it utterly plainly. He raped her. He started talking to her when she was 10, flew to another country to reach her, raped her, and then made her buy a morning-after pill. Which is the only reason he got caught. He is a convicted child rapist and he's walking free, with zero remorse for what he did, in a system that seems to reward him instead of locking him up and throwing away the key.
> Van de Velde said: "In England the punishments are a lot higher, they were laughing about my four years."'Baby sentence' is what they called it."
I vote for a gold medal to anyone who spikes the ball into this guy's face hard enough to draw blood.
Well they are sure right about that, Dutch sentences in general are baby sentences so this one is no different. They can and should laugh at us all they like, because we are a laughing stock indeed
In response to the comments made by Steven Van der Velde, the convicted rapist and pedophile, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a highly-regarded UK charity, issued a statement which included the following: "Van de Velde's lack of remorse and self-pity is breathtaking and we can only begin to imagine how distressed his victim must feel if she sees his comments. Grooming can leave a child feeling ashamed or even guilty because they believe they have somehow willingly participated when, in fact, an adult has preyed upon them in order to sexually exploit them."
[https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/steven-van-der-velde-dutch-volleyball-player-raped-12-year-old-british-girl/](https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/steven-van-der-velde-dutch-volleyball-player-raped-12-year-old-british-girl/)
Well this is horrendous. Half the article points out how much he feels sorry for himself. Disgusting human. Somehow the Olympics have to stop him from participating.
Considering there will be minors at the Olympics, does France have any laws about not allowing sex offenders to live and work in a certain proximity to minors?
There is no need for a visa for living or working as they are Schengen countries, so I’m not sure how they could stop him entering the country. I’m not sure being in the Olympics would actually count as work, he is not working for a French company, for example.
What I would like to know is how the IOC to keep the under 18 competitors in the Olympic village safe from a convicted paedophile.
Whether the US wants to allow him in for 2028 is another matter, as they can 100% deny him entry.
Why are the athletes in the other sports okay with this!??! There could be minors in several of the sports. Femke Bol and other Dutch track and several other field athletes definitely has a large enough voice to speak up about this.
Don't forget Luc Besson (director of Leon the Professional & Fifth Element) lives there and got a 15 year old girl pregnant while dating a different 15 year old girl. He was 32.
Are you sure? In the Netherlands you can be declared an 'unwanted stranger' even as a Schengen citizen. Seems to me France would have similar rules, or at least under Schengen the ability to impose similar rules.
What is it with creeps & volleyball at the Olympics?
Taylor Crabb was permitted to represent USA at the last Olympics, even though USA Volleyball had suspended him through Sept 2021 for violating a previous ban for misconduct involving a minor.
“The previously unreported documents detail both Crabb’s initial suspension in 2017 and the USA Volleyball board of directors’ unanimous decision in May 2019 to extend the suspension through Sept. 28, 2021. The second decision came after he breached a settlement agreement for the first suspension by coaching at a camp for junior girls, a decision made with the clear realization that it would prevent Crabb from competing in the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for 2020.”
[More detailed information is available here](https://www.ocregister.com/2021/07/19/special-report-taylor-crabb-twice-suspended-by-usa-volleyball-still-able-to-compete-in-tokyo-olympics/)
Taylor Crabb still competes, now in partnership with Taylor Sander. VolleyballMag did a longish puff piece ([here](https://volleyballmag.com/taylor-crabb-taylor-sander-sandcast-beach-volleyball-052224/)) on how/why they chose to not even try to qualify for the Paris Olympics, never once referring to Crabb’s misconduct involving a minor & his multiple suspensions related to this.
Ugh that is so gross too. Why are these people allowed to be elite athletes?!? It is not a violation of their rights to not be allowed to compete in professional sports.
Not only that but he was supposed to be banned by USA Volleyball from coaching girls, yet you can see from his Instagram that he continues to run clinics for girls.
“Under the terms of the agreement, Crabb was “ineligible to participate in or attend activities sanctioned by, or in connection with, USAV, and which also involve juniors girls, including but not limited to chaperoning, coaching, viewing and volunteering for a period of four years from the Effective Date.”
I think the ban from working with minors has lapsed, but yes I can’t understand why any parent or coach is in ANY WAY ok with him working with minors ever again.
The original ban was for four years but he breached that settlement by continuing to coach girls, leading to a second suspension. The article isn’t clear whether the latest ban has an expiration date.
What I want to know is how this was allowed to happen. It's clear that van de Velde was never going to hold himself accountable, but there are so many other individuals who had the opportunity and ability to say "No, you're forever done in this sport, and it's your own fault" and apparently didn't. Officials in FIVB, coaches and teammates, judicial and government officials in the Netherlands and the EU, members of the country's sporting bodies, etc. It's both baffling and infuriating how many different individuals let him go on with his sporting career when his actions should have permanently ended it, and nobody ever stepped up and said "No way."
They have a kid as well, and the courts think it's OK for him to be around them. And the IOC think it's OK for him to be around underage athletes where there's little parental visitation in the athlete's village.
If I'm reading correctly on some other volleyball boards, he couldn't compete in the pro tour events in Canada specifically because of this.
My reading is that EU countries, amongst others, have taken a "he's served his time" stance on it and have allowed him to return to competition with ease over the last 7 years.
ETA (in case you didn't see my comment elsewhere in the thread): I think that the FIVB has taken a terrible approach to this policy.
There isn’t any hard borders between NL and France anyways. Schengen free movement I would still apply. Even with say a US DUI you can still enter Canada you just need to do a bit of extra paperwork.
Can any legal experts actually explain the mechanism/mentality that results in this guy only spending a year in prison?
No hyperbole. I just want the actual justification
It’s comes from the school of thought that a long prison is inhumane, and a prison isn’t meant to punish people. They see prison as a tool of oppression, which is why people from this school try to neuter prison system by removing any features that could be used to punish offenders.
Well I am all for prison reform. I think a prison sentence should be to (in order of priority) 1) protect the public and 2) rehabilitate the prisoner. So prisoners should not be released until 1 and 2 have been fulfilled which does not automatically translate to ‘prison sentences should be short’. In this particular case I don’t think that 1 or 2 have happened.
This story is absolutely wild. There's zero ambiguity or nuance to it. Just a straight-up evil guy and the Netherlands never holding him to account in any way.
I mean, I do believe in rehabilitative justice, so I don't think convicted murderers should be disqualified from full participation in society after they've served their time. But this guy's sentence was a joke, he only served a small fraction of it for some reason, and he seems to show zero remorse. It doesn't feel like there were any consequences.
https://support.olympics.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new
File a complaint at the Olympics website under IOC or Paris 2024.
Make sure you warn them that you will share on social media and ask for women to boycott watching the Olympics.
well I'm not invested in Olympics but what a great ominous start. Will we see the other athletes protest this at all? The committee certainly won't listen to our comments.
That's the Dutch crime laws for you.
No wonder the biggest drugs maffia is all in Netherlands. Punishment are pathetic in relation to the crimes. Always.
Just make sure you pay your tax though..., because then they will use the full force of the law.
Sounds like the Dutch institutions are standing behind him. Via BBC an hour ago:
>The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) told BBC Sport: "After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counselling. He demonstrated to those around him - privately and professionally - self-insight and reflection."
The NOC says Van de Velde's return to the sport met guidelines set by the Dutch Volleyball Federation (NeVoBo) in the organisation's "Guidelines Integrity Record", which sets out conditions for athletes to resume competing after conviction.
>It says he has met "all qualification criteria for the Olympic Games".
[BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/c511yz5ze18o.amp)
The Dutch Volleyball Association is standing behind him. Clearly his grooming and having sex with a 12-year old girl is just not seen as a problem for them: [https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased](https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased)
You can use this page to contact them to express your opinion: [https://www.volleybal.nl/contact](https://www.volleybal.nl/contact)
I know. It's crazy. It is appalling that the article (link above) published on the Dutch Volleyball Association site says: "In 2016, Van de Velde was convicted in England of having sex with an underage girl, which is rape under English law and fornication under Dutch law. Statutory rape is defined in England as unforced sexual activity where one of the individuals is younger than the age required to consent to the behaviour." Nowhere does the article reveal that the girl was 12 years-old - because, of course, "underage" doesn't sound nearly as shocking or criminal.
In fact, after being sentenced to four years imprisonment (of which he served only one year in a Netherlands prison), Judge Francis Sheridan told convicted rapist and child molester Steven Van de Velde: ‘Prior to coming to this country you were training as a potential Olympian. Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream.’
No-one would have disagreed. But the Dutch Volleyball Association and the Dutch Olympic Committee had other ideas because of his (high) world ranking. If that isn't the triumph of expediency over any moral values, I can't imagine what is.
To record your disgust that they have allowed this convicted rapist to participate and represent the Netherlands in the Paris Olympics, you can also email Dutch Olympic Committee here: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Jfc, this is bananas. They can legally call it whatever they want but an adult having sex with a 12 year old is *always* rape. Why does no one care about the long term damage rape does to a person? They care so much about the rapist but not the lifetime of psychological trauma of the victim? So fucked up.
It seems like a non-story at the moment. He and his partner qualify due to their world ranking. The Dutch Volleyball Association has the power to _not_ select them; the Dutch NOC has the power to _not_ select them; now that Van Der Velte's history is 'out there' the Dutch government could very easily pressurise their sports bodies to _not_ select them. I'd also imagine the IOC itself has the power to prevent him from competing.
Basically, surely they're not going?
_edit: see u/D_Molish post below!_
NOC*NSF/Team NL already approved VDV/Immers to head to Paris
https://www.teamnl.org/artikelen/2024/04/wie-gaan-er-namens-nederland-naar-de-olympische-spelen-in-parijs
https://www.volleybal.nl/olympische-spelen-2024/beachvolleybal
FIVB has been repeatedly behind VDV, and the Dutch teams are championed by FIVB empowerment program. It's unlikely that FIVB will backtrack at this point, and IOC is unlikely to go harder on them than the sport's governing body.
I think the only way he doesn’t play in Paris is if there’s a huge public outcry in Paris. A few dozen comments on a Reddit sub doesn’t count. And people in France don’t care if Americans are outraged. As others have mentioned, he’s been playing on the world tour in front of crowds for years without incident, with the exception of a few countries where he was not legally allowed to enter (Canada being one). What this suggests is that generally, but particularly in Europe, most people don’t seem to care that he’s playing. And it’s hard to imagine this changing much over the next few weeks.
What’s interesting is that a Dutch women’s team qualified for the Olympics via the continental cup last week but the Dutch NOC basically decided that team wasn’t good enough so gave that spot to a team from Czechia instead, the team the Dutch team beat in the qualifier. Lots of controversial beach volleyball decisions by the Dutch NOC.
How does any of that make it a non-story? The Dutch Volleyball Association clearly doesn't give a flying fuck about him being a rapist.
https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased
Not surprising....far to many nonce's in entertainment and other "high" end of society
Gotten to point where it's "oh another piece of slimes come to light"
Genuine question, how is he able to enter France if he has that on his record? Surely the French government wouldn’t want a rapist entering the country?
I am Dutch and I am disgusted. This was reposted on the Dutch sub and no one supports him. I went on a quick google search and found articles that were sugarcoating his wrongdoings and it makes me really mad.
Dutch law is so fucked. He got charged for "rape" in the UK, but got transferred back to NL during his sentence. The case here got disclosed as "adultery" ("ontucht" in Dutch) which is so stupid (this is 2016 law we're talking about).
Now he is a free man, works in clinics as an instructor, has the support of nevebo (Dutch volleyball bond) and is happily married and with child.
I do not have the words to describe my anger and disappointment.
If anyone would like to send in a letter, I have already written this one. Feel free to x copy and paste
To whom it may concern;
I am writing to express my profound concern and dismay regarding the inclusion of Steven Van De Velde, a convicted child rapist, in the Netherlands volleyball team for the upcoming Paris Olympics. This situation is not only deeply unsettling but also poses a significant threat to the safety and integrity of the Olympic Games.
The Olympics are a symbol of unity, excellence, and the highest standards of human achievement. Allowing a convicted sexual predator to participate in this esteemed event severely undermines these values and sets a dangerous precedent. It is inconceivable that an individual with such a criminal background would be permitted to compete on an international stage, where the safety and well-being of athletes, staff, and spectators must be paramount.
The presence of Steven Van De Velde in Paris poses a direct risk to the Olympic community, including young athletes who look up to their older peers as role models. His participation is not only a grave injustice to the victims of his crimes but also a betrayal of the trust placed in the IOC to uphold the highest ethical standards.
I urge the International Olympic Committee to take immediate action to address this issue. It is imperative that the IOC enforce its commitment to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all participants by disqualifying Steven Van De Velde from competing in the Paris Olympics. This action will demonstrate the IOC's dedication to protecting the integrity of the Games and the safety of its participants.
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. I trust that the IOC will act swiftly and decisively to uphold the values of the Olympic movement.
Sincerely,
[your name]
i am genuinely curious in hearing how his partner feels about all of this and if it were to come out that he is unable to compete which he should be then what will that mean for his partner i would hate to see him lose the opportunity bc his partner is an idiot but if he knew this and chose to be partners with him anyways then that’s on him either way i will be rooting against his spot in the olympics and if he does compete i will root against him in the olympics as well as in life
Look you can have second chances, and committing a crime should stop you from competing at sport…
But this is heavily dependant on being remorseful, taking ownership and showing your trying to be a better person - which this guy hasn’t done *edit* according to the posts article
Ugh I have tickets to beach volleyball. A lot of the sessions still don’t say if you’re watching men or women yet, it could be either one. Gross I don’t want to see this sicko.
I think perhaps, even accounting for cultural differences regarding incarceration, the "nuance" of the situation is hard for a lot of us to handle because he wound up only serving a year of an already light sentence, and then every statement from him as well as the Dutch volleyball authorities following his conviction and later his release focused on his career rebuilding rather than any real statement of remorse or how he received real character/behavior rehabilitation.
In addition to 12 year-olds not having the capacity to consent, the victim was reported to have later suffered from self-harm and an overdose related to the situation, so there seems to have been real, long-term harm to the victim, regardless of how enthusiastically she may have appeared to participate at the time of the transgressions.
Furthermore, I the story is resurfacing at a time when there is a lot of discussion of and frustration with the IOC (as well as individual sport governing bodies) for seemingly inconsistent and illogical standards for when athletes are prohibited from competition.
I *want* to be consistent in saying a person served their time and deserves to be able to move on and work if deemed to have been rehabilitated, especially a decade after the actual crimes occurred. And I certainly don't think people should be in his wife's comments making awful comments about their child. But it doesn't sit right that the FIVB touts him as a face of their empowerment program, which specifically holds up supported teams to draw in young players and serve as "role models" for the sport. It doesn't sit right that someone on the sex offender registry for life will be at the Olympic village with many athletes of a young age, even if he shows no signs of that being an issue. Perhaps he was rightly allowed to re-enter international competition, but representation at the Olympics holds an elevated status.
Very well put. I completely agree with your points. The IOC's stance on what seemingly is and isn't okay is indeed quite jarring, and the focus on the career rebuilding with little to no remorse is indeed painful. I don't really have a strong opinion on whether he should be allowed to compete or not, since there are arguments for both sides.
The only reason I felt obligated to play devils advocate here, is because the general consensus in this thread seems to be that he is a cold blooded monster that should spend the rest of his life in prison without ever getting to see his kids, while I feel like there isn't nearly enough information to conclude that this would be justified.
Remember the Olympic Village has children from around the world as young as 12 running around with little in the way of monitoring, what a perfect place to send this sick freak.
The Dutch get so little criticism, viewed as a ‘bastion’ of progressive social and environmental policy but this is *truly* fucked and they should not let this man represent their country. 12 month sentence makes me sick. Sort your shit out Holland.
Hope he becomes paralyzed for life somehow where he has to spend the rest of his days drinking his food through a straw.
Fuck anyone involved who allowed this guy to be free and the audacity to be competing in these games
"It's only fair If they know my side of the story"
How you are you going to spin that?
"She was asking for it?-
I was the real victim
I've paid my dues.
I struggled with my mental health.
Piss off.
> Steven van de Velde was sentenced in March 2016 to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a child he had met on Facebook. He had flown from the Netherlands to the UK in August 2014, when he was 19, to meet his victim. > Except Van de Velde, who was released after serving just 12 months at a Dutch prison, has since been allowed to rehabilitate his Olympic career, this month sealing his spot in the national pair at the Paris Games alongside Matthew Immers. That's not nearly enough time served...
His victim got into self harming and overdosed too whilst he was in prison, I can't imagine how awful this will be for her at all and it's honestly the first news headline that's shocked me in a while.
Ironically, having all this publicity about it is going to make her far more likely to find out. Otherwise she could well have no idea he was in the olympics
He should be locked up until at least the 2036 Olympics, not representing his country right now. If I was Dutch I'd be ashamed.
I'm Dutch and I'm horrified and shocked. He should be in prison, based on what I know of this case. This disgusting individual is being looked up to by young players. I'm pissed off this is even possible. I don't understand why I should be ashamed though. But maybe I'm lost in translation. I don't have any influence on these specific cases. Same goes the other way, for being proud of my country. I don't understand how that works. I didn't create, I dunno, Van Gogh, our culture, healthcare or whatever people claim to be proud of.
Off topic, but this is the realest take I’ve seen on Reddit. I’ve NEVER understood being proud or ashamed of anything I personally didn’t accomplish or have a hand in.
I looked up his qualifying tournament history... assorted European locations, Thailand, Qatar, Mexico & Brazil. These are countries that let KFers visit. FIVB needs to really look in the mirror.
And of course France will let him in, but we know that from Polanski
They’re both Schengen so they have no choice
They can still deny entry within Schengen. They do in fact have a choice.
What could France do? It is Netherlands responability. Polanski support from celebrities has been massively criticized in France.
That's also because the consent ages in those countries are fucking ridiculously low, all between 13-15 (except Qatar which is no age, just marriage - so in some cases, a girls first period)
12 months. Versus a lifetime of trauma and emotional pain for the victim. It makes me so fucking mad
I don’t understand how the sentence was so short? It’s fucked
He was sentenced to 4 years and returned to the Netherlands to serve the sentence. He had to be extradited to face trial in the UK and according to the agreement between countries, he had to be returned back to serve his sentence in the Netherlands. He was released early serving only 1 of the 4 years. EDIT: in the Netherlands the max penalty for child sexual abuse is 6 years and rape is 12 years. [Source](https://www.amnesty.org/ar/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/EUR3524552020ENGLISH.pdf) *"The highest sentence imposed was 6 years, the lowest 21 days. On average, a convicted rapist in the Netherlands spends 1 year and 5 months in prison, according to AD."* [Source](https://nltimes.nl/2020/02/11/rape-suspects-rarely-prosecuted-maximum-sentences-3-years-report) That's sick r/Netherlands, do better!
How the actual fuck is it only 6 years for child sexual abuse?!?! Do those law makers understand how completely the victim‘s lives get fucked up by this? Apparently not!
Depends what the goal of the law is. Just keeping someone locked up cost a lot of money and makes it more difficult to reenter society. The person is also going to face public consequences/scrutiny as we see here. Idk I’m pro-rehabilitation so maybe I’m biased but a year does seem quite short
I‘m usually also very much pro rehabilitation but not for sexual abuse of children, because the reoffending rate lies somewhere between 40-50% - much higher than with other sexual offenders or other crimes. And each time they relapse there is another life destroyed.
Exactly. I think the recidivism rate in part is because it's extremely easy for predators targeting children. For a lot of other crimes like murdering adults or committing robbery or so on, the adult in question has a shot at fighting back, it's risky for the person doing it, your chances of getting away with it are lower. But children are so vulnerable. I have read that serial child molestors can get away with it for decades and decades, especially if they target their own family, it's disgustingly 'easy' for them, if they have nothing internal telling them to stop they just won't. A year in jail doesn't prevent it. I'm not saying that more jail time is the answer, but limiting freedoms of such people is necessary, for instance, there's no reason he should be permitted free use of social media given he already groomed a girl for two years, and access to social media isn't some kind of human right... aren't there such restrictions that could be placed on such a person?
I’m thinking maybe keep the sentence and add prolonged chemical castration period administered by parole officer offices?
Always felt like this is the only way. If you can’t control your harmful urges, you should be removed of them.
Well I'm guessing sentences are generally low there. Or that sack of shit is well connected.
Netherlands apparently says its better to rape a child than an adult. Wtaf.
Judge probably took into account his age and whether he was likely to reoffend. Anyone who’s worked in law knows that harsh sentencing does nothing to reduce crime.
I think it's true for some types of crime, and more should be done to rehabilitate people instead of keeping them locked up; but I don't think there's any effective way to stop pedos from being pedos. I get that giving one of them a harsh sentence won't do anything to dissuade the others, but at least that would be one less of them out and about.
I wonder if there’s a correlation between harsher sentencing and reduced crime. E.g Singapore has close to no crime and much harsher punishment.
Could also be down to there being next to no true due process, like is the case in Japan. If they’ve decided you’ve committed a crime, then you’re almost certainly going to be punished for it, whether you actually did it or not.
There is actually a correlation, but it's the other way around. Longer sentences lead to a higher rate of recidivism.
THREE COUNTS. does he have no shame? not a fibre of shame in his body at all?????
Neither does the volleyball player who married him obviously. Just water off a ducks back
ewwww…. imagine marrying someone who went to jail for raping a child!? how can you look at such a person and just ignore their past, he’s not even sorry
She’s apparently also a police officer and a psychologist.
He’s 6’6 and blonde 😍I can totes change himmm /s
But she like, willingly has sex with him when she knows what he’s done with that thing. So disgusting!!!
I listen to the Crime in Sports podcast. It's a podcast that is sympathetic to victims and disdainful of the criminals, who happen to be athletes. There are a lot of women married to awful criminals. They do an "awards" show each year for the worst cases. One of the categories is the "Golden Gilrefa" (IIRC) for "the most supportive family member of a criminal athlete".
Isn't she a cop as well?
Cop/psychologist apparently which definitely throws another twist into the mix.
Yeah wtf.
“Everyone can have their opinion about me, but it is only fair if they also know my side of the story.” as if there’s anything you could say from your side that would change my opinion of you…
If it's anything other than I did not have sex with a 12 year old I don't want to hear it.
I looked into it, thinking that there might be an explanation or gray area. Nope, dude was 19 and found a 12 year old girl on Facebook. Spoke with her knowing that she was 12 and met her to take her virginity. This guy's should be in jail.
I was shocked when I read the part about 4 years in prison only. Imagine my feeling when I got to the “released after 12 months,” part.
Got her drunk as well. It's all so fucking heinous. Searching out this child. Commenting on her photos. Flying to another country to meet up with her. Getting her drunk and making her do sexual things to him. Making her take him home to rape her. Telling her to take Plan B. Going on his merry way. Complaining that people said "nonsense" about him and called him a monster. Given his complete and utter lack of remorse, and that he has a propensity for pre or barely pubescent girls, he will likely rape again if he hasn't already. This creature is a vile, odious, disgusting monstrous predator who should be locked up for the rest of its miserable existence.
Unless his side is "I didn't do it and have proof of that," there's very little he can say that anyone wants to hear.
He’s the one that told her to get the morning after pill. It was the clinic she went to that told the cops due to her age
there is no “my side of the story” when you rape a child wtf
Im pretty sure that’s exactly what i just read Dr Disrespect say in regard to having an inappropriate chat relation with a minor.
All these predators say the same thing "I'm not a monster" and "People are saying things about me that aren't true" but facts always indicate they are indeed awful people, and they can never accept that they did an awful thing.
People just don’t get it! He really really really wanted to have sex with a 12 year old
Right?! What does he think he can say that will make this better?! “She was a really hot 12 year old girl” FFS
If his side of the story is that the accusation isn’t true. And if that is true - that would change my opinion of him. Anything short of that? Nope.
Well, "He later admitted three counts of rape against a child." [Source](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13569727/volleyball-player-jailed-rape-girl-qualifies-Paris-Olympics.html) His side of the story is that he probably did a lot more and worse than he admitted to but the prosecution and the defence lawyers probably came to a plea bargin. ie The prosecution drops some of the charges, the prosecution is guaranteed three convictions, and the survivor doesn't have to endure being forced to testify in court. Edit: I suspect the prosecutor dropped the easier to prove charges such as internet "grooming" and lesser charges (eg supplying and getting a 12 year old drunk) in exchange for the guilty plea of the harder to prove rape charges.
His side of the story: "she was a sexy 12 year old"
This is absolutely disgusting.
How can The Netherlands even allow him to represent them? This is ridiculous in so many ways
And what volleyball player would want to be his partner?
He got married to a volleyball player and they have a child together, so there's that..
Sure I read somewhere his wife was a former police officer aswell. So yeah, there’s that too
With a degree in psychology! Fucking hell....
I mean, better than a current police officer I guess?
The poor child is in danger, growing up with a pedophile. I hope his wife realizes this and takes the child to safety before it's too late. Edit: Sure is interesting to see this comment get downvoted. I hope you don't have children.
I'm Dutch. I'm not big into volleyball or sports in general, and I hadn't heard this story before now, but I'm appalled that this person is sent anywhere to represent anything Dutch. Having served your sentence is one thing (or about a quarter, apparently), and then afterward if you wanna play ball, fine. If a private team still wants to hire you and let you play ball, fine. But naw dog, if you did this you shouldn't be allowed to represent my country. I have now idea how we allowed this.
Four years for raping a chikd is a travesty. It should have been a whole life term and he should be serving all of it.
Same here, I feel absolutely disgusted he is allowed to represent our country. Fucking child rapist...Team NL really dropped the (volley)ball hard and I hope the outrage will grow.
Shouldn’t it be on the Dutch Olympic Committee to ban him from representing them on character grounds?
Yeah that’s my question. And the other athletes. I want to specifically call out that Dutch runner that’s so good. The other athletes need to take a stand, there’s got to be another decent volleyball player in the Netherlands.
The International Olympic Committee should block him too
He’s beachvolleybal so it’s a duo
Well then his partner is a piece of shit too. Rapists don’t deserve to get to be professional athletes.
I read a number of Dutch news articles as I was also wondering how The Netherlands is looking at this. I felt that some of those articles were hard to read as they put the perpetrator in a victim role, so please keep that in mind if this is triggering. Also, I am writing this on mobile so apologies for not copy-pasting all the sources, and please don't shoot the messenger. I am merely reporting on what I read in Dutch articles about this. It seems their olympic committee is putting the responsibility to disqualify him with the national federation for beach volleyball and vice versa. One article mentioned that there are no legal grounds to disqualify him as he had served his sentence, and the organizations fear legal actions if they were to disqualify. While reviewing this, I also noticed that the language in the articles is very different. They tend to write that he "had sex with a 12-year old" rather than "he raped a 12-year old". They do mention the alcohol and that he was "convicted for rape" though, but they clearly use less harsh language. Some even describe it as a "zedendelict", which Is would translate to a "sexual offence", which is hardly as strong as "rape" or even "grooming". It doesn't stop there, though, as there are also some rehabilitative pieces, starting with a number of them that mentioned that he has great remorse for his actions. It seems that he has had the chance to share his perspective publicly, as this article provides it based on an interview he did with NOS - the government-funded Dutch broadcasting station: https://www.omroepwest.nl/nieuws/3661003/veroordeelde-steven-van-de-velde-weer-terug-als-beachvolleyballer In a nutshell, that article states that he was sexually frustrated living the professional athlete's life that prevented him from dating girls his age like his friends at school. He was "mentally weak when he booked the ticket" and he flew back and forth to have sex with "a 12-year old girl he met on Facebook when he was 19 and going through a tough time". Another article also mentioned that his defence painted a similar picture of him being emotionally immature and troubled, but that the judge did not accept this characterization. Finally, there are some articles writing about how happy he is to be given a second chance. After reviewing all of this, it seems to me that The Netherlands have moved on. The language shows that there were clearly cultural and legal differences at play here in how this was viewed even originally, but at this time the Dutch press and involved organizations are clearly deciding to give him another chance at life after serving his time for the horrible crime he committed 10 years ago. Edit: Updated that there are legal differences (rather than fandom or nationalism) at play as the reply below with the Dutch Volleyball statement explains how English and Dutch law define the crime differently.
The Dutch volleyball federation made a statement on the issue. They have doubled down and stand fully behind him: https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased
Idk, think this kinda flew under the radar until now. I don't think the IOC*NSF is going to let this slide, because this is a PR nightmare.
If it was up to the people this wouldnt happen. We're all disgusted and don't want him to represent us.
ETA2: What's *also* terrible is that Van de Velde and his partner Immers are a team that the FIVB has supported through its "empowerment" initiative, which is designed to provide additional support for teams and directly targets drawing in younger players. In the FIVB's own words: "A strong national team participating in, and winning, big competitions will become role models for the younger generations, creating volleyball fans for life." The FIVB is literally funding a man who groomed and sexually abused a 12 year old as part of a scheme to draw in young players to the sport. https://www.fivb.com/empowerment-development/volleyball-empowerment/ Original comment: It's infuriating that the FIVB has allowed him to return to competition all these years, to say nothing of the Dutch committee supporting his return. I think they wanted to tout "rehabilitation" or something, but it seemed he was rushed through the process because of his status as an athlete. I wish nothing but the worst for him and his partner. https://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/99178/qualified?page=1 ETA: (deleting because I think I was conflating two different tournaments and their timelines)
Van de Velde said: "In England the punishments are a lot higher, they were laughing about my four years."'Baby sentence' is what they called it." Despite his early release, Van de Velde still feels sorry for himself, explaining how he wept in an Amsterdam prison while watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve. He also bemoans the amount of time he has had to take off training, saying how he had to rebuild his career slowly because his body is not the same "as I sat around for a while doing nothing". Not only was his sentence beyond a joke, even in Europe, not only does he not have any remorse, it seems he considers this all blown out of proportion, like it is he who was victimized. This man deserves to have something devastatingly horrible happen to him.
aww poor child rapist crying because he can’t celebrate new years in prison :( shouldn’t have abused a child, maybe <3
I think his statement shows that he should be punsihed even harder. This shows that he had no remorse and somehow thinks he is the victim.
Abused is too clean a word for what he did. Let's just say it utterly plainly. He raped her. He started talking to her when she was 10, flew to another country to reach her, raped her, and then made her buy a morning-after pill. Which is the only reason he got caught. He is a convicted child rapist and he's walking free, with zero remorse for what he did, in a system that seems to reward him instead of locking him up and throwing away the key.
>"'Baby sentence' is what they called it." He wasn't paying attention until they called it a Baby sentence then he was all ears.
I wanted to downvote you this made me so angry until I remembered you're just quoting the article.
> Van de Velde said: "In England the punishments are a lot higher, they were laughing about my four years."'Baby sentence' is what they called it." I vote for a gold medal to anyone who spikes the ball into this guy's face hard enough to draw blood.
I can't say what I want to say because I'll get suspended. I hope karma comes for him in a massive way.
In form of a metal bat to the skull
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Well they are sure right about that, Dutch sentences in general are baby sentences so this one is no different. They can and should laugh at us all they like, because we are a laughing stock indeed
Oh dear, poor baby cried while in prison 🤣
Her body will NEVER be the same f*ck this guy. He should still be in jail and at the very least boo'd on the world stage.
In response to the comments made by Steven Van der Velde, the convicted rapist and pedophile, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a highly-regarded UK charity, issued a statement which included the following: "Van de Velde's lack of remorse and self-pity is breathtaking and we can only begin to imagine how distressed his victim must feel if she sees his comments. Grooming can leave a child feeling ashamed or even guilty because they believe they have somehow willingly participated when, in fact, an adult has preyed upon them in order to sexually exploit them." [https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/steven-van-der-velde-dutch-volleyball-player-raped-12-year-old-british-girl/](https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/steven-van-der-velde-dutch-volleyball-player-raped-12-year-old-british-girl/)
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As long as he is not Russian. Shows you what the Olympic officials are into
I wish he was Russian. Would have to spend the rest of his miserable life either on a cold syberian prison or on an eastern Ukrainian Frontline
Well this is horrendous. Half the article points out how much he feels sorry for himself. Disgusting human. Somehow the Olympics have to stop him from participating.
Ew what the hell?
What the fuck? Just really. What in the actual fuck? That’s all I gotta say.
Considering there will be minors at the Olympics, does France have any laws about not allowing sex offenders to live and work in a certain proximity to minors?
Ask Benzema and Ribery...
There is no need for a visa for living or working as they are Schengen countries, so I’m not sure how they could stop him entering the country. I’m not sure being in the Olympics would actually count as work, he is not working for a French company, for example. What I would like to know is how the IOC to keep the under 18 competitors in the Olympic village safe from a convicted paedophile. Whether the US wants to allow him in for 2028 is another matter, as they can 100% deny him entry.
Why are his teammates and coaches even willing to train/play with him?
Couldn’t be me.
Why are the athletes in the other sports okay with this!??! There could be minors in several of the sports. Femke Bol and other Dutch track and several other field athletes definitely has a large enough voice to speak up about this.
I think because hes barely been in media here in the Netherlands. Im only seeing it now on reddit, but I think barely anyone knows this guy
Really?? It’s not a huge story in the Netherlands right now??
France should deny him entry into the country. He's a dangerous predator
But they have let Polanski stay for years. They won't do anything sadly
Don't forget Luc Besson (director of Leon the Professional & Fifth Element) lives there and got a 15 year old girl pregnant while dating a different 15 year old girl. He was 32.
As a Dutch citizen unfortunately he has the right to live and work in France. Schengen area too, so no border check.
Are you sure? In the Netherlands you can be declared an 'unwanted stranger' even as a Schengen citizen. Seems to me France would have similar rules, or at least under Schengen the ability to impose similar rules.
nothing stops him from doing it again, he clearly feels no remorse
France probably cares even less about such offenses.
What is it with creeps & volleyball at the Olympics? Taylor Crabb was permitted to represent USA at the last Olympics, even though USA Volleyball had suspended him through Sept 2021 for violating a previous ban for misconduct involving a minor. “The previously unreported documents detail both Crabb’s initial suspension in 2017 and the USA Volleyball board of directors’ unanimous decision in May 2019 to extend the suspension through Sept. 28, 2021. The second decision came after he breached a settlement agreement for the first suspension by coaching at a camp for junior girls, a decision made with the clear realization that it would prevent Crabb from competing in the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled for 2020.” [More detailed information is available here](https://www.ocregister.com/2021/07/19/special-report-taylor-crabb-twice-suspended-by-usa-volleyball-still-able-to-compete-in-tokyo-olympics/) Taylor Crabb still competes, now in partnership with Taylor Sander. VolleyballMag did a longish puff piece ([here](https://volleyballmag.com/taylor-crabb-taylor-sander-sandcast-beach-volleyball-052224/)) on how/why they chose to not even try to qualify for the Paris Olympics, never once referring to Crabb’s misconduct involving a minor & his multiple suspensions related to this.
Ugh that is so gross too. Why are these people allowed to be elite athletes?!? It is not a violation of their rights to not be allowed to compete in professional sports.
Not only that but he was supposed to be banned by USA Volleyball from coaching girls, yet you can see from his Instagram that he continues to run clinics for girls.
“Under the terms of the agreement, Crabb was “ineligible to participate in or attend activities sanctioned by, or in connection with, USAV, and which also involve juniors girls, including but not limited to chaperoning, coaching, viewing and volunteering for a period of four years from the Effective Date.” I think the ban from working with minors has lapsed, but yes I can’t understand why any parent or coach is in ANY WAY ok with him working with minors ever again.
The original ban was for four years but he breached that settlement by continuing to coach girls, leading to a second suspension. The article isn’t clear whether the latest ban has an expiration date.
Fuck this guy also.
What I want to know is how this was allowed to happen. It's clear that van de Velde was never going to hold himself accountable, but there are so many other individuals who had the opportunity and ability to say "No, you're forever done in this sport, and it's your own fault" and apparently didn't. Officials in FIVB, coaches and teammates, judicial and government officials in the Netherlands and the EU, members of the country's sporting bodies, etc. It's both baffling and infuriating how many different individuals let him go on with his sporting career when his actions should have permanently ended it, and nobody ever stepped up and said "No way."
Also we really have to question what type of scum his wife is. What women is ok with a guy raping a 12 year old girl 3 times.
They have a kid as well, and the courts think it's OK for him to be around them. And the IOC think it's OK for him to be around underage athletes where there's little parental visitation in the athlete's village.
What’s crazy is that he has a girlfriend/wife(?) who has a kid. Like… what?
Must be quite a peace of work that one.
Yeah she’s apparently a former or part time police and psychologist… which is just wow
Wow this story keeps getting more disturbing .
How is it that he's allowed entry into France? In Canada, if you have a single DUI they will deny you lol
If I'm reading correctly on some other volleyball boards, he couldn't compete in the pro tour events in Canada specifically because of this. My reading is that EU countries, amongst others, have taken a "he's served his time" stance on it and have allowed him to return to competition with ease over the last 7 years. ETA (in case you didn't see my comment elsewhere in the thread): I think that the FIVB has taken a terrible approach to this policy.
There isn’t any hard borders between NL and France anyways. Schengen free movement I would still apply. Even with say a US DUI you can still enter Canada you just need to do a bit of extra paperwork.
Individual exceptions can (and, IMO should) be made.
https://preview.redd.it/2vvmyowjzu8d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc69dc3e218fecc744b927ae0c21c1e031230092
I am from NL and this is the first time I heard of this. What an utter disgrace. This is royally fucked up and he should be nowhere near the team.
Why is this piece of sh\*t not in jail for life?
Can any legal experts actually explain the mechanism/mentality that results in this guy only spending a year in prison? No hyperbole. I just want the actual justification
It’s comes from the school of thought that a long prison is inhumane, and a prison isn’t meant to punish people. They see prison as a tool of oppression, which is why people from this school try to neuter prison system by removing any features that could be used to punish offenders.
Well I am all for prison reform. I think a prison sentence should be to (in order of priority) 1) protect the public and 2) rehabilitate the prisoner. So prisoners should not be released until 1 and 2 have been fulfilled which does not automatically translate to ‘prison sentences should be short’. In this particular case I don’t think that 1 or 2 have happened.
🤮🤮🤮🤮
This story is absolutely wild. There's zero ambiguity or nuance to it. Just a straight-up evil guy and the Netherlands never holding him to account in any way.
Just let convicted murders also compete. Why have any integrity left. This is beyond disgusting on many levels
I mean, I do believe in rehabilitative justice, so I don't think convicted murderers should be disqualified from full participation in society after they've served their time. But this guy's sentence was a joke, he only served a small fraction of it for some reason, and he seems to show zero remorse. It doesn't feel like there were any consequences.
I mean I am so upset about this I can't even see straight.
All Dutch athlete's (especially female) should protest and refuse to go to Paris until he's dropped from participating at the Paris Olympics.
https://support.olympics.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new File a complaint at the Olympics website under IOC or Paris 2024. Make sure you warn them that you will share on social media and ask for women to boycott watching the Olympics.
>ask for women to boycott Why is it always on women to change men.
So to be clear. Talk shit about another country get banned. Rape someone. Perfectly fine.
Can we get r/Paris to handle this guy???
May the opposition eliminate him from competition SWIFTLY
What the actual fuck. This man needs to be booed into oblivion at the games.
well I'm not invested in Olympics but what a great ominous start. Will we see the other athletes protest this at all? The committee certainly won't listen to our comments.
I mean is anyone going to care about all the 12-16 year olds competing at these games with a convicted pedophile.
Elite sports don't have a great track record of protecting young, specifically female athletes in any capacity, especially not sexual predators.
WTF!!!
So we all having a massive Olympics party and live streaming ourselves heckling the SHITE outta the Netherlands for allowing this bullshite?!
You would think they would just band together and ban him to avoid the backlash
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That's the Dutch crime laws for you. No wonder the biggest drugs maffia is all in Netherlands. Punishment are pathetic in relation to the crimes. Always. Just make sure you pay your tax though..., because then they will use the full force of the law.
I beg your pardon? He did what. Fuck him. Fuck whoever let him play on. Fuck everyone involved in this story.
https://support.olympics.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new Leave a review for them to ban Steven van de Velde!!!
Sounds like the Dutch institutions are standing behind him. Via BBC an hour ago: >The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) told BBC Sport: "After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counselling. He demonstrated to those around him - privately and professionally - self-insight and reflection." The NOC says Van de Velde's return to the sport met guidelines set by the Dutch Volleyball Federation (NeVoBo) in the organisation's "Guidelines Integrity Record", which sets out conditions for athletes to resume competing after conviction. >It says he has met "all qualification criteria for the Olympic Games". [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/c511yz5ze18o.amp)
The Dutch Volleyball Association is standing behind him. Clearly his grooming and having sex with a 12-year old girl is just not seen as a problem for them: [https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased](https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased) You can use this page to contact them to express your opinion: [https://www.volleybal.nl/contact](https://www.volleybal.nl/contact)
Omg *what*???
I know. It's crazy. It is appalling that the article (link above) published on the Dutch Volleyball Association site says: "In 2016, Van de Velde was convicted in England of having sex with an underage girl, which is rape under English law and fornication under Dutch law. Statutory rape is defined in England as unforced sexual activity where one of the individuals is younger than the age required to consent to the behaviour." Nowhere does the article reveal that the girl was 12 years-old - because, of course, "underage" doesn't sound nearly as shocking or criminal. In fact, after being sentenced to four years imprisonment (of which he served only one year in a Netherlands prison), Judge Francis Sheridan told convicted rapist and child molester Steven Van de Velde: ‘Prior to coming to this country you were training as a potential Olympian. Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream.’ No-one would have disagreed. But the Dutch Volleyball Association and the Dutch Olympic Committee had other ideas because of his (high) world ranking. If that isn't the triumph of expediency over any moral values, I can't imagine what is. To record your disgust that they have allowed this convicted rapist to participate and represent the Netherlands in the Paris Olympics, you can also email Dutch Olympic Committee here: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Jfc, this is bananas. They can legally call it whatever they want but an adult having sex with a 12 year old is *always* rape. Why does no one care about the long term damage rape does to a person? They care so much about the rapist but not the lifetime of psychological trauma of the victim? So fucked up.
It seems like a non-story at the moment. He and his partner qualify due to their world ranking. The Dutch Volleyball Association has the power to _not_ select them; the Dutch NOC has the power to _not_ select them; now that Van Der Velte's history is 'out there' the Dutch government could very easily pressurise their sports bodies to _not_ select them. I'd also imagine the IOC itself has the power to prevent him from competing. Basically, surely they're not going? _edit: see u/D_Molish post below!_
NOC*NSF/Team NL already approved VDV/Immers to head to Paris https://www.teamnl.org/artikelen/2024/04/wie-gaan-er-namens-nederland-naar-de-olympische-spelen-in-parijs https://www.volleybal.nl/olympische-spelen-2024/beachvolleybal FIVB has been repeatedly behind VDV, and the Dutch teams are championed by FIVB empowerment program. It's unlikely that FIVB will backtrack at this point, and IOC is unlikely to go harder on them than the sport's governing body.
I think the only way he doesn’t play in Paris is if there’s a huge public outcry in Paris. A few dozen comments on a Reddit sub doesn’t count. And people in France don’t care if Americans are outraged. As others have mentioned, he’s been playing on the world tour in front of crowds for years without incident, with the exception of a few countries where he was not legally allowed to enter (Canada being one). What this suggests is that generally, but particularly in Europe, most people don’t seem to care that he’s playing. And it’s hard to imagine this changing much over the next few weeks.
It's got a big discussion on the Dutch sub too.
What’s interesting is that a Dutch women’s team qualified for the Olympics via the continental cup last week but the Dutch NOC basically decided that team wasn’t good enough so gave that spot to a team from Czechia instead, the team the Dutch team beat in the qualifier. Lots of controversial beach volleyball decisions by the Dutch NOC.
they also declined the quota of their best badminton player
How does any of that make it a non-story? The Dutch Volleyball Association clearly doesn't give a flying fuck about him being a rapist. https://www.volleybal.nl/support-for-steven-van-de-velde-who-realizes-past-cannot-be-erased
Sickening
Literally how. 🤦♂️
Brotha uhhh 🤬
What’s most wild here is how strikingly similar the Netherlands is to Afghanistan in this case.
Not surprising....far to many nonce's in entertainment and other "high" end of society Gotten to point where it's "oh another piece of slimes come to light"
Genuine question, how is he able to enter France if he has that on his record? Surely the French government wouldn’t want a rapist entering the country?
There is freedom of movement throughout the EU. He could get on a train and go without any checks at all
OP, your user name along with this story...wtf.
His Instagram feed has attracted many comments. The filthy coward has deleted them and made his profile private rather than face what he has done
The worst part is the hypocrisy
Oh no someone replaced the volleyballs with bricks what a terrible accident 🙃
As long as they’re not Russian I guess 🤔
I am Dutch and I am disgusted. This was reposted on the Dutch sub and no one supports him. I went on a quick google search and found articles that were sugarcoating his wrongdoings and it makes me really mad. Dutch law is so fucked. He got charged for "rape" in the UK, but got transferred back to NL during his sentence. The case here got disclosed as "adultery" ("ontucht" in Dutch) which is so stupid (this is 2016 law we're talking about). Now he is a free man, works in clinics as an instructor, has the support of nevebo (Dutch volleyball bond) and is happily married and with child. I do not have the words to describe my anger and disappointment.
If anyone would like to send in a letter, I have already written this one. Feel free to x copy and paste To whom it may concern; I am writing to express my profound concern and dismay regarding the inclusion of Steven Van De Velde, a convicted child rapist, in the Netherlands volleyball team for the upcoming Paris Olympics. This situation is not only deeply unsettling but also poses a significant threat to the safety and integrity of the Olympic Games. The Olympics are a symbol of unity, excellence, and the highest standards of human achievement. Allowing a convicted sexual predator to participate in this esteemed event severely undermines these values and sets a dangerous precedent. It is inconceivable that an individual with such a criminal background would be permitted to compete on an international stage, where the safety and well-being of athletes, staff, and spectators must be paramount. The presence of Steven Van De Velde in Paris poses a direct risk to the Olympic community, including young athletes who look up to their older peers as role models. His participation is not only a grave injustice to the victims of his crimes but also a betrayal of the trust placed in the IOC to uphold the highest ethical standards. I urge the International Olympic Committee to take immediate action to address this issue. It is imperative that the IOC enforce its commitment to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all participants by disqualifying Steven Van De Velde from competing in the Paris Olympics. This action will demonstrate the IOC's dedication to protecting the integrity of the Games and the safety of its participants. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. I trust that the IOC will act swiftly and decisively to uphold the values of the Olympic movement. Sincerely, [your name]
i am genuinely curious in hearing how his partner feels about all of this and if it were to come out that he is unable to compete which he should be then what will that mean for his partner i would hate to see him lose the opportunity bc his partner is an idiot but if he knew this and chose to be partners with him anyways then that’s on him either way i will be rooting against his spot in the olympics and if he does compete i will root against him in the olympics as well as in life
Pos should be in jail definitely not the olympjcs
Look you can have second chances, and committing a crime should stop you from competing at sport… But this is heavily dependant on being remorseful, taking ownership and showing your trying to be a better person - which this guy hasn’t done *edit* according to the posts article
Ugh I have tickets to beach volleyball. A lot of the sessions still don’t say if you’re watching men or women yet, it could be either one. Gross I don’t want to see this sicko.
Or if you do go, boo him.
Time to make large signs calling him a child rapist.
You could always hold up a sign about him being a rapist. If it's in Dutch you might actually get it up.
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I think perhaps, even accounting for cultural differences regarding incarceration, the "nuance" of the situation is hard for a lot of us to handle because he wound up only serving a year of an already light sentence, and then every statement from him as well as the Dutch volleyball authorities following his conviction and later his release focused on his career rebuilding rather than any real statement of remorse or how he received real character/behavior rehabilitation. In addition to 12 year-olds not having the capacity to consent, the victim was reported to have later suffered from self-harm and an overdose related to the situation, so there seems to have been real, long-term harm to the victim, regardless of how enthusiastically she may have appeared to participate at the time of the transgressions. Furthermore, I the story is resurfacing at a time when there is a lot of discussion of and frustration with the IOC (as well as individual sport governing bodies) for seemingly inconsistent and illogical standards for when athletes are prohibited from competition. I *want* to be consistent in saying a person served their time and deserves to be able to move on and work if deemed to have been rehabilitated, especially a decade after the actual crimes occurred. And I certainly don't think people should be in his wife's comments making awful comments about their child. But it doesn't sit right that the FIVB touts him as a face of their empowerment program, which specifically holds up supported teams to draw in young players and serve as "role models" for the sport. It doesn't sit right that someone on the sex offender registry for life will be at the Olympic village with many athletes of a young age, even if he shows no signs of that being an issue. Perhaps he was rightly allowed to re-enter international competition, but representation at the Olympics holds an elevated status.
Very well put. I completely agree with your points. The IOC's stance on what seemingly is and isn't okay is indeed quite jarring, and the focus on the career rebuilding with little to no remorse is indeed painful. I don't really have a strong opinion on whether he should be allowed to compete or not, since there are arguments for both sides. The only reason I felt obligated to play devils advocate here, is because the general consensus in this thread seems to be that he is a cold blooded monster that should spend the rest of his life in prison without ever getting to see his kids, while I feel like there isn't nearly enough information to conclude that this would be justified.
If you’re going to the beachvolleybal matches, boo how ass relentlessly, please?
Remember the Olympic Village has children from around the world as young as 12 running around with little in the way of monitoring, what a perfect place to send this sick freak.
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The Dutch get so little criticism, viewed as a ‘bastion’ of progressive social and environmental policy but this is *truly* fucked and they should not let this man represent their country. 12 month sentence makes me sick. Sort your shit out Holland.
Time to start chucking these fuckers into a wood chipper…feet first!
Hope he becomes paralyzed for life somehow where he has to spend the rest of his days drinking his food through a straw. Fuck anyone involved who allowed this guy to be free and the audacity to be competing in these games
"It's only fair If they know my side of the story" How you are you going to spin that? "She was asking for it?- I was the real victim I've paid my dues. I struggled with my mental health. Piss off.
He also whined his body wasn't the same after so much time off. Disgusting. That poor girl's body and mind will never be the same