Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016, said Tuesday that he considered quitting the Paris Olympics amid the controversy surrounding his participation.
Van de Velde and his partner Matthew Immers reached the quarterfinals in Paris, where they lost to Brazil in straight sets. The pair played four matches in the tournament and Van de Velde was repeatedly subjected to a stream of hoots and whistles.
Asked in an interview with Dutch national broadcaster NOS if he thought about quitting, Van de Velde said that he considered it both before and during the Olympics, but ultimately decided to compete.
“I thought, ‘I don’t want that. I’m not going to give others the power to decide they can bully me away or get rid of me,’” he said told NOS in Dutch.
OH. MY. GOD. WHO. CARES.
Not condoning what he did in any way, shape or form, but Dutch TV adds a little more nuance not covered in foreign press:
It was explained that this happened in the UK when he was 19, and the girl was 12. The sex was consentual, but in the UK sex with a minor is always considered rape, because a 12-year old is never considered mature enough to consent to sex. He served his sentence partly in the UK, then was transferred to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, consentual sex between a minor and an adult is “fornication” and illegal as well, but the punishment is less than for rape. He is now 30, and has a family. In the interview he says he is a different person than the teenager he was 11 years ago. A grown-up with a family instead of a teenager. The thing that bothered him more than being booed (he says he blocked it out at some point) was that at one point people went to attacking his volleyball partner and his wife and child.
I can’t find the full interview online, but here is an excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXyNaldd0qg
and the girl was 12. The sex was consentual
Leaving out the part where an adult gave alcohol TO A 12YO to have sex with her. That’s not consensual, and the Dutch are absolutely wrong on that (and hopefully the changed law reflects that).
It’s sad to see that his volleyball partner and family were attacked, but he’s still a rapist of a pre-teen, so the only people I feel sorry for are those around him who were hurt. He, however, deserves everything he’s getting.
The Dutch interpretation of the rape of a 12 year old is bullshit. If a 19 year old goes and liquors up a 12 year old and then “has sex with” said 12 year old. The 19 year old is a predator and a rapist.
I think he deserves a second chance, in obscurity. Have him enjoy his life and family. Good on him if there is no recidivism for a crime that has a high recidivism rate.
But allowing him to represent our country at the Olympics is similar to having a convicted felon and sexual abuser on the ballot of a presidential race in the US. It should not be acceptable to anyone, ever.
Oh poor Steven, he thought hoots and whistles were bullying ? He should end up in a mexican prison with a big public announcement about what he did. This bastard shouldn’t make 24 hours before getting what he truly deserves
Stop with wishing such harm to people. It is a weird american fetish… prison rape and/or murder.
Prisoners are wards of the state and should be kept safe.
Honestly, the whole idea of people getting what they “deserve” is pretty American. It’s part of the whole Wild West fantasy where things were solved when the good guy shot the bad guy on the street at high noon. And of course, only people who were truly bad people got shot, so they deserved it.
And meanwhile, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. By far.
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