Steven van de Velde was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old over a decade ago—today, he’s competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, drawing outrage from the public and victims alike.
Warning: The following article contains sensitive content, namely mentions of sexual assault (SA) on a minor. Reader discretion is advised.
One athlete’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics has stirred up global controversy and outrage since the games started. Steven Van De Velde, who is currently representing the Netherlands in beach volleyball, received strong boos from audience members during an introduction to his second match, reports Mary Whitfill Roeloffs of Forbes. The reason being that, despite him having sexually assaulted a 12-year-old British girl in the U.K. over a decade ago, the 29-year-old now stands on sports’ biggest stage with a flourishing career.
This fact is a gut punch to victims of sexual assault, as well as those who have dedicated their lives to curbing such cases and seeking justice. However, their contentions have also given way to counter-arguments from people who support van de Velde, mainly on the basis of him having served his sentence before turning over a new leaf.
Below, we break down the controversial story and shed light on what had happened all those years ago.
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A Dubious Relationship
A native of the Netherlands, van de Velde’s descent began when he started messaging a girl through social media platforms at 19 years old. Initially, he thought that she was 16, before she later revealed that she was actually 12 years old—yet he didn’t stop communicating with her despite this, as Tom Burrows of The Athletic reports. At the time, the young man was already enjoying a stellar reputation in his country’s beach volleyball scene, and was well on the way to becoming a future Olympian, as BBC’s 2016 article on the case explains.
Still, the legal adult decided to book a cheap flight from Amsterdam to the U.K., visiting the victim in her home and taking her to a hotel to engage in sexual acts while her mother was away. Though both parties say it was a consensual relationship, Burrows of The Athletic adds that the girl complained that “he was hurting her” in one encounter.
Before leaving the girl to return to Amsterdam, van de Velde advised her to take a morning-after pill as they hadn’t used contraception. Staff at the family planning clinic that she visited decided to contact authorities and her family upon realizing that she looked too young to be there.
Though van de Velde managed to return to the Netherlands, U.K. authorities extradited him and arrested him on January 2016, BBC explains. At 21, he admitted three counts of rape against a child, serving a 12-month prison sentence in the U.K. before the Netherlands brought him back, then shortened his sentence to one month before releasing him in 2017, totaling 13 months.
Legal Differences
The U.K. has strict laws when it comes to such cases, as sex with a person under 16 years of age is still sexual assault, regardless of the nature of the relationship (as they cannot legally consent). However, Renate van der Zee of The Guardian writes that laws in the Netherlands aren’t as stringent, especially if authorities feel that there is no coercion.
“Under Dutch law, his crime was deemed to be the lesser offence of ontucht, sexual acts that violate social-ethical norms,” van der Zee expounds.
Despite U.K. judge Francis Sheridan saying, “You were a potential Olympian. You had the possibility of a stellar future representing the Netherlands” during van de Velde’s sentence all those years ago, the athlete is ironically doing just that.
This has naturally led to contention on the matter, especially since van de Velde is still a criminal under U.K. law. A petition with 125,000 signatures began circulating even before the games, as Roeloffs of Forbes reports, calling for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the player from participating in the games. However, the decision to have van de Velde represent his country is ultimately “the sole responsibility of each respective National Olympic Committee,” the IOC tells Amy Woodyatt of CNN Sports in an interview.
According to Gentry Estes of USA Today, van de Velde is staying in a separate accommodation from all the other athletes in Olympic Village, including his volleyball partner Matthew Immers. Dutch officials have also given him a free pass to dodge any interviews that come after matches to avoid drawing more attention to his already controversial case.
Second Chances?
Nevobo, the Dutch Volleyball Federation, has released a statement regarding the matter in defense of van de Velde. “After his conviction and sentence, Steven van de Velde returned to the highest level of sport step by step under the expert guidance of probation and coaching, among others. He has been participating in international tournaments again since 2017,” the statement writes.
It adds: “After his release, van de Velde sought and received professional counseling. He has demonstrated to those around him — privately and professionally — self-insight and reflection. […] When van de Velde looks in the mirror now, he sees a mature and happy man, married and father of a beautiful son.”
Indeed, the player has since been able to move on with his life, and now has a wife and child. Team Netherlands chef de mission, Pieter van den Hoogenband, also expressed “mild surprise” at the public outrage, van der Zee writes for The Guardian, as the athlete has been competing in the sports scene for a while since his release in 2017.
“I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life,” van de Velde says in a press statement. “I am also grateful to the Dutch volleyball federation, because they offered me, with clear conditions and agreements, a future in this beautiful sport again. But I also think back to the teenager I was, who was insecure, not ready for a life as a top class athlete and unhappy inside, because I didn’t know who I was and what I wanted.”
A Concerning Message
While there are people acknowledging that second chances can be good, others point out that it is one thing to return to a sport, and another entirely to represent a country in what is perhaps the biggest sporting event in history.
“If an athlete or staff member had that conviction, they would not be allowed to be a member of our team,” explains Australian chef de mission Anna Meares in a statement to Woodyatt of CNN.
Ju’Riese Colon, CEO for the US Center for SafeSport, adds in the same CNN article: “With teams from around the world about to convene in Paris, many of which include minor athletes, this sends a dangerous message that medals and money mean more than their safety. Participation in sport is a privilege not a right.”
Sara Alaoui, director of the Safe Space Club, an organization supporting victims of sexual violence, also expresses that van de Velde hasn’t been using his significant platform to “talk openly and honestly about the impact of sexual abuse on victims,” van der Zee writes in her feature for The Guardian.
Irreversible Damage
Much of the defense for van de Velde comes from the idea of giving people second chances—but what about the victim of his actions, and the many others who’ve experienced sexual assault under similar circumstances?
The U.K. law grants lifelong anonymity to victims of sexual offenses, explains Burrows in The Athletic. However, he adds that van de Velde’s victim was so “racked with guilt” following his arrest that she proceeded to self-harm. Though there’s little information about how she’s doing today, there’s no doubt that the athlete’s actions have caused irreparable damage in ways that, even with proper support systems, leave a permanent mark on the girl’s life.
As Estes puts it in his USA Today article: “I’m all for second chances, but any attempt to coerce sympathy for van de Velde or explain his actions as some youthful mistake should cease right here: She was 12 years old. Nothing else matters.”
Banner photo from the Nevobo website.
