A senior official with the Dutch Olympic committee has insisted that a convicted child rapist in its beach volleyball team is not a paedophile, in an email seen by the Guardian.
A concerned British man who has lived in the Netherlands for more than a decade, wrote to the Dutch Olympic committee and called the inclusion of Steven van de Velde in the team “a stain on the Dutch national side”. In a reply the Dutch Olympic committee spokesperson wrote: “Steven is NOT a peadophile [sic]; you really don’t think that de Dutch NOC would send someone to Paris who IS a real risk? No, he isn’t a risk.”
There has been mounting public anger at the presence of the beach volleyball player Van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016. Earlier this week the International Olympic Committee faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024. The IOC has said the selection of athletes for the Games was the responsibility of individual committees.
There has been mounting public anger at the presence of the beach volleyball player Van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016. Earlier this week the International Olympic Committee faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024. The IOC has said the selection of athletes for the Games was the responsibility of individual committees.
He might not be a pedophile, we’ll never know, but he sure is literally a convicted child molester, wtf
I swear, definitions of words are just seemingly lost in this age.
Oh, somebody already wrote that.
We don’t know it he’s a pedophile (strictly speaking that’s not a crime), but he surely is a child rapist which is the problem.
Trump is already considering him for a position on his cabinet.
its going to turn out they were both on epstein’s jet, I’m sure
Pedo Airlines.
Steven van de Velde is a nonce
Can you explain the word “nonce” for me, please?
That girl would be 20 by now. Probably out trying to study or looking for a job, and has to see his face broadcast on the largest stage in the world…
Please explain why he raped a CHILD if he’s not a pedophile then
I have enough reasons not to touch youtube unless I absolutely have to. I don’t see that reason here.
Don’t know if this is the case here, but the word pedophile refers to someone who is sexually attracted to children, and rapists don’t necessarily have to be attracted to their victims. There can be other motivations at play. So yeah, it’s possible that someone raping a child is not actually a pedophile. Doesn’t make it any less disgusting of course, and I have no clue why anyone thought “but he’s not a pedo” would be a reasonable argument here
Our justice system might not be perfect, but it is the best option we have.
So if they convict someone, it is pretty much the truth until proven otherwise.
Some official doing damage control doesn’t get a say in this.
But by the extension of that logic, he has done his prison time for the crime already, so should be free to go about his life and have his job too.
Dude rapes a kid in 2016, he shouldnt be out of prison.
Dude rapes a kid at any point in history, he shouldn’t be out of prison. There’s no coming back from that.
He was 19 back then
That makes it worse, not better.
There is no appropriate age for what he has done, not sure why you’d even chime in…I hope you don’t follow up by victim-blaming
Just boycott the Olympics.
That’s what I’ve done /shrug
gotta love how the terfs defending trans women being excluded from the olympics are still saying that a guy who sa’ed a 12 year old girl is just misunderstood. maybe it’s not actually about protecting children.
Maybe I live in a nicer part of the internet but I have not seen anyone come close to supporting this man.
"you really don’t think that de Dutch NOC would send someone to Paris who IS a real risk? No, he isn’t a risk.”
Given how often powerful groups cover up and protect pedos in their ranks, yeah I do think they would send someone who’s a risk. It’s not surprising, just disappointing
They’re saying rapists aren’t a real risk, only pedophiles, that’s disturbing to me.
Great point!
The world has going immensely nuts;
- Genocide seems okay by most of the presidents.
- Calling for justice is a hate crime and gets you arrested.
- Racism and Fascism on the rise.
- Raping a 12 year old person seems to be okay, doesn’t get you labeled as a pedophile.
- Calling out that Zionism is in fact bad gets you the “antisemitic” name.
- Quoting Hitler seems to be okay
- Saying that you want to erase and nuke a whole group/race seems to be okay.
I’m seriously worried for the future.
All of those things happened in the past, too. Probably even more than now.
I think the difference, now, is that it gets called out a lot more. In the past, it happened quietly and people went along or pretended to not notice. Now, people are calling it out and the shitty people have to openly defend it.
Up is down, right is wrong.
Van de Velde, who is now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping the girl in Milton Keynes. He had flown to England to meet her in 2014 with full knowledge of her age, having met her on Facebook. He served 12 months in a British prison, before being transferred to his home country where he was released after a further month.
So he was 19 at the time of rape. Sick fuck.
Is everyone here talking about Steven Van de Velde the child rapist and peadophile? I heard he only served 13 months for repeated raping a child who he encouraged to get the morning after pill. She self harms herself now due to the guilt. Is it that Steven Van de Velde, the child rapist you are talking about?
Oh, thanks for clarifying, I thought we were talking about Brock The Rapist Turner for a second.
Alongside the rest of the comments…imagine being an elite-level volleyball player, being told that you’re going to represent your country, and then being asked to partner up with a nonce.
Well, if they won’t send him home, we should all just start calling the team “the Dutch Rapists”.
Maybe if enough people do it, they might find a conscience?
Pedophile or not, it doesn’t matter. He’s still a child rapist.
Being a rapist doesn’t even need a qualifier, you’re a piece of shit regardless.
