British charities have criticised the Dutch Volleyball Association for supporting a convicted child rapist to become an Olympian.
Steven van de Velde was found guilty of three counts of rape involving a 12-year-old child in 2016 and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Van de Velde’s expected presence in the Paris Games, which take place from 26 July to 11 August, has prompted calls for the Dutch Volleyball Association to reconsider its support for him.
The Survivors Trust, a UK-based group which supports victims of sexual violence, told Yahoo News they found support for Van de Velde disturbing. “The rape of a child was planned, calculated involving international travel and will undoubtedly cause his victim lifelong trauma, irreversibly changing the course of her life,” they said.
What did Van de Velde do?
In March 2016, Van de Velde was convicted of the 2014 rape of a 12-year-old girl whom he met online two years prior. He was aware of her age before he flew to the UK to meet her.
In August 2014, Van de Velde flew to the UK where he met and sexually assaulted the child over two days. The rape was flagged to authorities after the child visited a sexual health clinic for the morning after pill under Van de Velde’s instruction.
The judge who sentenced him said his Olympian dreams would be “shattered”.
Judge Francis Sheridan said: “Your actions in those two days in England have wrecked your life, and you could, had you never come to England and committed these offences, have been a leader in your sport.”
He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016, and after serving 12 months of his sentence was extradited to the Netherlands, where authorities said he would complete the rest of the sentence.
After serving one month of his sentence in the Netherlands, Van de Velde was released from prison on license – as his crimes weren’t considered rape in the Netherlands, but sexual abuse, as the 12-year-old was considered able to consent.
Van de Velde was allowed to continue competing as a beach volleyball player.
During the trial, his defence lawyer Linda Strudwick said: “He’s lost a stellar sporting career, and he’s being branded a rapist. In Holland, the term means violent sexual assault without consent. The headlines say it all – ‘a sex monster.’ It’s plainly a career end for him.”
What has Van de Velde said?
Van de Velde has continued to enjoy a successful career. He won several international matches, resulting in his participation in the Olympics.
In 2018, Van de Velde publicly addressed the conviction in an interview with NOS and expressed regret. He said: “I did what I did, I can’t reverse it, so I have to carry the consequences.”
In the video, he claimed the victim said she was 16 years old. Van de Velde said: “It all started very simple and easy, just saying hi and how are you. I got that quite often. Then suddenly, it became more and more, and at one point, she told me [that she was 12 years old].
“I was really shocked, so I immediately broke off contact,” he said.
He claims he later got back in contact with the 12-year-old because things were going well in his life.
He said he spoke to her because he could tell her his story without being judged, as she didn’t know the people in his life.
He recalled the moment he booked the ticket as a “snap decision”.
Van de Velde responded to the backlash and said he understood why the “black period” of his life would resurface.
He said: “I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.”
The volleyball player is still banned from speaking to the girl he raped and is permanently on the UK’s sex offenders register. In 2022, Van de Velde married a German volleyball player who is also a former policewoman, and they had a child together in the spring of that year.
What has the Dutch Volleyball Association said?
The Dutch Volleyball Association (NeVoBo) has posted a lengthy statement about the situation titled “Support for Steven van de Velde, who realizes past cannot be erased” and said they fully supported him.
Michel Everaert, general director at the Dutch Volleyball Association, said: “He was convicted at the time according to English law and he has served his sentence. From then on, 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.”
The Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) told the BBC: “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 IOC told Yahoo News it is not responsible for Van De Velde’s nomination. They wrote: “The nomination of individual team members, following qualification on the field of play, is the sole responsibility of each respective National Olympic Committee.”
The backlash
The outrage began last month when the volleyball association in the Netherlands announced that Van De Velde and Matthew Immers would represent the country.
The news prompted outrage around the world. A petition calling on the Olympics to disqualify Van de Velde has nearly 40,000 signatures. Lauren Muir, who started the petition, said it was born out of a “deep sense of justice”, adding: “It is about more than just one person; it’s about the worldwide image of the Olympics and the kind of society we want to live in.”
British charities tackling violence against women have strongly criticised the Dutch Volleyball Association for Van De Velde’s potential Olympic debut.
The Survivors Trust told Yahoo News that the move to allow Van De Velde to compete in the Olympics shows that there is a “shocking toleration we have of child sexual abuse” and called for a zero-tolerance approach.
The group said: “As a society, we have to start embracing a zero-tolerance approach to this heinous and costly crime. His lack of remorse and empathy for his victim is chilling, and the allowance of his colleagues and the Olympic committee to promote him to a young audience as a sports person to look up to and therefore by implication is deeply disturbing.”
Nia, which runs East London Rape Crisis, told Yahoo News they were “appalled”. They said that victims suffer from the consequences of sexual violence for the rest of their lives while Van De Velde gets to be in the Olympics.
“This decision sends a clear and worrying message that the very serious crime of raping a child is less important than someone’s sporting skills. The conviction rates for sexual violence are incredibly low, and yet, even in the face of a conviction, Steven Van De Velde’s career is able to flourish as he is selected to represent his country at the highest level,” they said.
Yahoo News reached out to the Dutch Volleyball Association for further comment.
