Steve van de Velde He raped a 12-year-old and was imprisoned for it – now he is competing at the Olympics
Steven van de Velde joins Olympia in beach volleyball
© CTK Photo / Imago Images
It has been ten years since Steve van de Velde got a 12-year-old girl drunk and then raped her. He has confessed to the crime. The fact that the Dutchman is competing at the Olympics is causing outrage.
There are always controversies at the Olympic Games – but they are usually more political. The Dutch beach volleyball team is currently heated up over a moral question: does a country really want to be represented by a convicted rapist?
The Netherlands has decided on a “yes”. Beach volleyball player Steve van de Velde will fight for medals for the country together with his teammate Matthew Immers. This is causing a lot of international opposition: he is a confessed and convicted rapist.
Steven van de Velde: convicted rapist
The crime took place in the summer of 2014. Van de Velde, who was 19 at the time, flew to England specifically to meet the girl. The two had met on Facebook, and she had introduced herself to him as 16 years old. It was only when she got there that she admitted how young she really was. Van de Velde initially broke off contact, but then visited her again when her mother was not there. They drank alcohol together. After that, they had sex three times, but this is considered rape under English law – and probably also according to most people’s moral understanding.
The fact that, according to van de Velde, the girl participated voluntarily was irrelevant given her extremely young age and alcohol consumption. He ultimately confessed to the rape charge. It was not until two years later that he was sentenced to four years in prison by an English court.
The fact that he only served part of this sentence is due to a legal difference in his home country: In the In the Netherlands, sex between an adult and a twelve-year-old is not automatically considered rape. When van de Velde was transferred from England to his home country, he did not remain in prison for long: he was released after just under 13 months.
Petition against Olympic participation
When the verdict was announced, the judge already addressed van de Velde’s sporting ambitions – and called the conviction the end of his Olympic dreams. The fact that he is now competing is accordingly controversial. “No pedophile and rapist should represent a nation at the Olympic Games,” wrote lawyer Charlotte Proudman at X. “It is a slap in the face for all survivors that a rapist is being cheered on as if nothing had happened.”
An online petition is now calling for the Dutchman to be excluded from the competition. Almost 13,000 people have signed so far.
Association shows understanding
His association defends the decision: “We support Steven van de Velde, who has understood that the past cannot be erased,” said a statement from the two Dutch volleyball associations. Van de Velde has received his punishment and regrets his actions. “We rely on the assessment of experts that the likelihood of a relapse is virtually non-existent,” said the statement.
Van de Velde himself also spoke out in the statement. He said it was “the worst mistake of my life.” “I can’t undo it, so I’ll have to live with the consequences.” He says he can no longer explain how it all came about. Today he is married to former beach volleyball player Kim Behrens, and the two have one child together.
Sources: Dutch Volleyball Association, BBC, Petition, X
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