Steven van de Velde raped a 12-year-old a decade ago. Now, he’s at the Olympics

Steven van de Velde will finally achieve his dream of becoming an Olympian on Sunday when he competes in a sand court near the Eiffel Tower.

In order for him to compete for the Netherlands in the Paris Games, the Dutch Olympic Committee decided that he should reside away from the athletes' housing and avoid speaking with the press. This was to prevent any inquiries about his past prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl when he was 19.

Van de Velde, who is 29 years old, has been participating in volleyball tournaments and international competitions for many years. However, his recent inclusion in the Dutch Olympic team has sparked criticism and renewed scrutiny on his troublesome history.

The Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Volleyball Federation refused to allow Van de Velde to speak to The Athletic. They only provided a statement saying that he was selected for the team after careful consideration and had consistently met their high standards. When approached by a reporter from the Daily Mail in Paris, Van de Velde declined to comment further, referring to the statements from the federation and committee.

Van de Velde was given a four-year prison term in 2016 after confessing to traveling on a low-cost flight from Amsterdam to a small airport north of London in 2014, where he engaged in sexual activity with a 12-year-old girl whom he had been communicating with online for several months.

He was caught after telling his victim to get a pill that prevents pregnancy after sex. The workers at a clinic that helps with family planning told the girl's family and the police because of her young age.

The blog post was written by Pablo Morano of BSR Agency and features an image credited to Getty Images.

Van de Velde spent a total of 13 months in jail, with 12 months served in the UK before being moved to the Netherlands as part of an agreement between the two countries. He received a reduced sentence under Dutch law and was let go in the beginning of 2017.

Once released from prison, he spoke with the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad and stated, "I've been labelled as a sex predator, as a child abuser. But that's not who I am — not at all."

Van de Velde is still listed on the UK's register of sex offenders. The court in Aylesbury was told that he began communicating with the girl through various social media platforms, such as Skype, Facebook, and Snapchat, and they spoke almost daily for several months.

Their interaction began when she sent him a friend request. At first, he believed she was 16, but even after she revealed her true age, he continued talking to her.

On August 2, 2014, he got on a plane to meet the person he had hurt. He traveled from Luton airport to Milton Keynes, the town where she resided, via a 22-mile (35km) taxi ride for their sexual meetings. They engaged in vaginal intercourse, which caused her discomfort. They also drank Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur and spent the night on a cardboard box under a hotel staircase when they couldn't find a room.

Before he went back to his home country, Van de Velde recommended to his partner to get the morning-after pill since they did not use any form of birth control.

In his native land, Van de Velde's athletic journey was gaining momentum.

After becoming the champion in 2015, he was on track to qualify for the Dutch team in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, his plans were disrupted when a European warrant was issued for his arrest on charges related to child abuse.

He was sent back to the UK on January 8, 2016, where he admitted to committing three counts of child rape.

During the court proceedings, his attorney, Linda Strudwick, contended that Van de Velde was not a "predatory young man" and that his decision to fly to the UK to meet the girl was spontaneous. She asserted that his actions were not grooming and that he did not make the journey with the intent of engaging in sexual activity.

She explained that there was shared support between two troubled young people. He had lost a successful career in sports and was being accused of rape, which in Holland is considered a violent sexual assault without consent. The headlines were calling him a "sex monster," which would likely put an end to his career.

During Van de Velde's trial, it came out that the victim was feeling overwhelmed with guilt after he was arrested and had been hurting herself on purpose. Judge Francis Sheridan told Van de Velde: "The damage done to this child emotionally is very serious. As she grows up, she will have to accept that you are not the kind person she believed you were."

In the United Kingdom, individuals who have experienced sexual crimes are provided with permanent protection of their privacy, both during legal proceedings and after.

The upcoming Olympics will mark the highest point of Van de Velde's professional journey.

The sentence was shorter in the Netherlands because their laws on having sex with minors are not as strict as the laws in England.

During a television interview a year after his release, Van de Velde explained that he committed the crime when he was a teenager and was still trying to understand things.

"I decided on that path in my life when I wasn't fully prepared," he stated to NOS. "I was feeling confused at that time, but now I have gained a lot more knowledge about life."

He stated: "Everyone desires to be well-liked, everyone wants to be valued, and having something like this on your record makes it challenging. I cannot undo it, so I must face the repercussions. It is the greatest error I have ever made."

After that, he has started over and continued his career in sports. He has represented his country in competitions worldwide since 2017, and in 2022 he tied the knot with Kim van de Velde, a beach volleyball player from Germany who has also trained to be a police officer. They now have a two-year-old child.

Reaching a peak in his career, Van de Velde will compete at the Paris Olympics with his teammate Matthew Immers, who is 23 years old. They are aiming to continue their success after finishing as runners-up at a beach volleyball tournament on the world tour in May. Van de Velde has also participated in various world and European championships.

Their opening match in the group stage in Paris is against a pair from Italy on Sunday morning.

"I am familiar with the current version of Steven and I am content with the relationship we share," Immers expressed. "I feel at ease in his presence and we look out for each other. I am 23 years old, while he is 29. He acts as a paternal figure to me, providing me with support."

The Dutch Olympic Committee announced that Van de Velde has proven he has changed for the better and deserves another opportunity.

The message expressed understanding of the emotions stirred up by the recent attention on Steven van de Velde. The events from the past were indeed grave, but Steven has since served his time and undergone rehabilitation with trained professionals, including the probation service. After thorough assessment, experts have determined that there is no likelihood of him committing similar offenses again.

Michel Everaert, who is the general director of the Dutch Volleyball Federation, mentioned that since his comeback, he has demonstrated outstanding professionalism and compassion. There has been no cause to question his integrity.

The volleyball organization also stated that "Van de Velde now sees a grown and content man when he looks in the mirror, who is married and a proud father to a lovely son."

Pieter van den Hoogenband, the leader of the Dutch Olympic Committee, explained that the decision to modify his living arrangements and limit his interactions with the media was crucial due to the increased focus on Van de Velde during the Paris Games.

"He's not going to underestimate it. We need to acknowledge that and support him as a teammate to help him perform well," Van den Hoogenband stated.

The IOC relies on each country's olympic committee to choose the athletes for the games, rather than having its own set of rules.

"They (the Dutch Olympic Committee) have issued a declaration, indicating that there are extensive protections in place, including additional special protections," stated IOC representative Mark Adams during a press briefing in Paris on Saturday.

Some national representatives for the Olympics have stated that they would not have selected an athlete to compete under the same conditions.

Australia's leader, Anna Meares, mentioned that any athlete or staff member with that belief would not be permitted to join our team.

The news of Van de Velde participating in the Games has angered activists who believe he has not shown any regret or understanding for his victim. A petition with almost 81,000 signatures is urging the IOC to prohibit individuals with a history of sexual offenses from taking part in the competition.

The Survivors Trust, an organization in the UK that helps people who have been victims of sexual violence, said in a statement that including him further shows how we tolerate child sexual abuse. The group mentioned that the rape of a child was carefully planned, involved traveling internationally, and will have a lasting impact on the victim. They believe that society needs to start being more strict and not tolerate this terrible crime.

Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, who is the executive director of The Army of Survivors, believes that athletes who have been found guilty of sexually abusing children should not be allowed to compete in the Olympics, regardless of where they are from. She disagrees with Van de Velde's arguments and believes that there is no excuse for committing such a heinous act. She also thinks that Van de Velde's lack of remorse and understanding of the severity of his actions is concerning. Rivers-Cochran believes that raping a child should not be brushed off as a simple mistake, but should be seen as a serious crime that disqualifies individuals from participating in the Olympic Games.

Back in 2016, when Van de Velde was given a verdict, Judge Sheridan expressed to him, "Your dreams of representing your country have been completely destroyed. Your behavior during those two days in England has ruined your life. If you had never traveled to England and committed these crimes, you could have been a role model in your sport."

However, even after eight years have passed, Van de Velde's hopes are still alive.

First picture: Lucio Tavora/Xinhua through Getty Images