Dutch volleyball player who raped 12 year old British girl qualifies for Olympics

His partner, Matthew Immers, is said in some reports to be a "recent" partner. Maybe it took a while to find someone to play with him.

According to MSN "The Dutch Olympic committee has yet to comment on Van de Velde’s qualification for Paris, with The Australian reporting that the country’s volleyball federation is still to ratify its final athlete selections." So still time for them to see sense and exclude him.

That was part of the child abuse scandal in the US. It went on, ignored for decades. Imagine what's going on in the rest of the world. The Dutch team have taken back a convicted paedophile. Doesn't say much for their safeguarding.

Oh, yes! I think I can't be shocked by anything any more, but suddenly I'm fucking raging again.

I'm surprised he was sentenced at all, judges seem to give precedence to the perpetrators potential future.

Something is evidently very wrong. Larry Nassar abused over 300 girls.

Hopefully it won't!

I don't understand how it can only be 4 years for raping a 12 year old...

This is the Olympics, a sports tournament in whose culture of origin women were treated as possessions and the rape of children was accepted and celebrated.

This is beach volleyball the "sport" that made it compulsory for women to compete in bikinis

In a decent world, every other team would refuse to play unless he was removed but I doubt that will happen.

Kuol · Today 11:29
BeachTeam NL on instagram have turned off the comments on the post announcing him and his duo partner as on the team, you mustn’t call a rapist a rapist but it’s fine for them to represent your country.

He might end up with a gold medal. What is wrong with the rest of the team? No protest? No refusal to play with him?

I hope at the very least the British team refuses to play him. Or anyone in that team.

He’s clearly getting his reputation back. I think the article only uses the word paedophile once and that’s in the snippet of him whinging about being called paedophile.

I hope she's in a good place too - but she very well may not be and all the people putting her rapist into a feted competition on a world stage could very well cause her actual harm.

The fucking evil bastards.

Yes, every single person involved in allowing this paedophile to go to the Olympics is likely retruamatising that girl.

She will already likely have a life sentence, many child abuse victims do, and now - on a world stage - multiple people are condoning what her abuser did.

It is beyond disgusting this has been allowed. I'm torn between boycotting the Olympics (and telling everyone why) and going there to chant 'paedophile' at him every time he plays (probably can't afford the latter, so the former it will have to be).

BeachTeam NL on instagram have turned off the comments on the post announcing him and his duo partner as on the team, you mustn’t call a rapist a rapist but it’s fine for them to represent your country.

Other teams should refuse to play this Dutch team.
But they won't.

ageratum1 · Today 09:46
Because he has served his sentence.

You nuts?

Holy Feck. Shame on those who allow THAT anywhere near a sports competition. Poor girl. What message is that giving to our girls? 😭

Because he has served his sentence.. Aye. A disgustingly short sentence.

It still doesn’t make him anything other than a paedophile in my eyes.

Unfortunately those who have chosen him to represent his country think otherwise.

I can't imagine on what planet this would be deemed appropriate.
I can't imagine his team mates wishing to play along side him.
I can't say I'm too surprised though about him being permittedly to compete by a sports body who think its acceptable for men to falsely claim medals by pretending they are women 😬

His duo partner has been playing with him for years, so he clearly has none.

the sentence is an absolute joke and the fact he just gets to go on his merry way and be an Olympian is disgraceful.

a child has to live with this for life, the disruption for doing the crime was a tiny amount of time.

Reports of the trial at the time state that the girl had self harmed and attempted suicide. I hope she has been able to get help and put her life back together in the years since the original incident. I also hope that the publicity around this criminal doesn't set her back or cause her further harm.

I think it's beach volleyball. Teams of 2?

If his teammates have any integrity, they will refuse to play with him.

Vile man. He should be thoroughly shunned by all who encounter him. He is not in any way a fit person to represent his country.