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

Are you a paedophile sympathiser? He may have served time but he still did the crime. Men like this should not be allowed to represent their country

This. Wtf happened at sentencing for him to get away with only 4 years in the first place, how was he out in a quarter of that time, and how many different officials had to approve the decision to let him represent Holland in this sport?
Let me guess- all of them men? None with any daughters/female relatives/know any females they give a shit about?
Disgusting miscarriage of justice from every individual involved at those 3 points that gave him his freedom, his career and his dreams back unscathed.
Meanwhile we can only guess how his poor victim is getting on. He should be electronically tagged and monitored for life, only permitted to work in secure locations with no children anywhere near him, and donate half his earnings to her.

Well, taking a flight to another country to rape a child after grooming her for two years is, I dunno, a lapse of concentration...but s-smoking while female! Tsk! It seems very harsh, she's very young not young enough for the Dutch volleyball player I hope she makes it to the next Olympics.

I hope they crash and burn in the first round while the audience slow handclap and chant 'nonce'. Imagine being the person who has to hang a gold medal round this pervert's neck! I'd be tempted to throttle him with the ribbon.

Compare and contrast

Olympics 2024: Japanese gymnast Shoko Miyata sent home for smoking violation - BBC Sport

I agree with everything you say.

As to his having waited two years, I had not realised that. That means she was 10 when he began grooming her.

Scum of the earth.

Thank you for putting so perfectly what is inside my head @biscuitandcake

Its those crazy British tabloids up to their old tricks, getting all hysterical about men that get children drunk and repeatedly rape them. Will their constant hounding of the poor men never end???

Its also incredibly (deliberately) misleading. The wording almost implies he was sentenced "regardless of the fact she consented", thats not what it says but it is the impression it gives if you read it quickly.... It misses out the key detail that he got her drunk first in order to lower her boundaries. I mean, its sort of irrelevant anyway because she was twelve.
Under Dutch law by the way I think the age of consent is 16, but its only considered automatic rape is the child is under 12. But 12 is still minor. (It is... interesting that he talked to her online for two years right up to the point that it became a less serious crime under Dutch law to have sex...)

So yeah, it implies she gave consent and then talks about Van De Velde's age right after. It is sort of like "ahhh, a quirky technicality of English law." It is the sort of minimisation you see people do when its older children that are groomed (e.g. 15) but to see them try it with a 12 year old. Urgh.

A fuss???

Doesn't make sense does it. This has been discussed up thread and the age of consent in the Netherlands is 16.

From the translated article

There is a fuss about the participation of Van de Velde, who was sentenced to four years in prison by an English court in 2016 for sex with a minor. Due to the girl's age (12), this was considered rape, regardless of whether she consented. Van de Velde himself was 19 years old at the time

So far the countries I won't travel to because of their preferential treatment of paedophiles over and above their child victims is Netherlands and Scotland (Dolatowski and that ridiculous ruling that let a rapist off because of the impact him raping a child might have on his life...). Any more?

I agree. I was glancing in a travel agent’s window and caught sight of a notice of a trip to Amsterdam. My instantaneous and involuntary response was “Hmm.”

It is the fact that he took a plane trip to get to her. He had time to think.

That pitiful excuse of a response fails to mention the victim once.

Are they paying for her extensive counselling that she'll need given her rapists face is going to be plastered all over the media from now until the Olympics. Or is it only the paedophile that gets expensive 'rehabilitation'?

These bastards are harming her again. Deliberately. Fucking evil monsters.

That the Netherlands is happy to be represented by a paedophile makes one question other aspects of their society, sadly.

NO, he served 12mths which is an absolute insult. And even if he had served 4 years, he still should not be representing Netherlands at the Olympics.
Give your head a shake.

Let's hope him being separate will protect others.

https://nos-nl.translate.goog/artikel/2529251-van-de-velde-krijgt-na-onrust-over-veroordeling-aparte-accommodatie-bij-spelen?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

He's getting his own special accommodation block and Olympics authorities have barred the press from asking him questions. More special treatment for this vile rapist.

I've also emailed.

Yes, Van de Velde doesn't appear to have any remorse or shame, just feeling hard done by that he keeps being called a paedophile (because he is).

Thank you for looking out for that girl.

And it's not just that the sexual preference is so ingrained. It's also that the people who commit those crimes are entitled, self centred and arrogant. They have to be do do what they do. It's completely different to a teenager with low self esteem/poverty issues/addiction robbing a house. The types of therapy to rebuild self esteem etc can make abusers worse because it encourages the to focus on themselves. As does being chosen for the Olympics. The Dutch have done everything to Not rehabilitate him.

There's a really good lundy Bancroft description of what genuine remorse/restitution for something terrible looks like that stuck in my mind. I will try to find it later but it's long. Spoiler alert - Van De Velde doesn't pass it.

Depends on the crime.

Something like fraud, robbery, assault yes I am all for rehabilitation.

Paedophilia? No. I don't think you can have therapy that talks you out of a certain sexual preference. Maybe not to act on it.

My neighbour is a convicted paedophile (he abducted an 11 year old and raped her). This is an old conviction (about 15 years ago).

Recently I saw a girl about the same age walking with him and felt I had to call the police as it's just clear that his interest in young girls is enduring. He disappeared for quite a few weeks (we live in a HA block so I'd usually bump into him regularly so I assume he was detained).

Sorry, rambling reply but I don't believe paedophiles can usually be rehabilitated. I worry for all the young girls in the Olympic Village with him.

He was. More than that, his teammate at the time he was extradited gave an interview saying how shocked he was, how actually he hadn't been in contact for a while etc. The second his friend was released they were teammates again. So clearly he wasn't that shocked. And there's a lovely YouTube video from 2018 about what stand-up guys "Steven" and his partner are.