Dutchman Steven van de Velde, convicted of raping a 12-year-old woman, prepares to march in Paris
On the night of Friday, July 26, Steven van de Velde will seem on the opening ceremony of the Olympic Video games, tall and tall, proud within the orange uniform of the Netherlands, able to take the athletes’ oath and honor the royal coat of arms of his nation. Eight years in the past on such days he was behind bars, sentenced to 4 years in jail for raping a minor. What enterprise does a labeled pedophile have within the Olympics?
“We demand his speedy dismissal” reads the decision which has to this point gathered 18,000 signatures. “Steven van de Velde’s sordid file can’t be swept underneath the carpet nor can or not it’s made a logo of success in a prestigious occasion just like the Olympics. Allow us to all elevate our voices towards any act that undermines justice and the protection of our youngsters.”
Is anybody listening? Apparently, no. The so-called patriots imagine that the disgraced athlete has paid his debt and repented. The Dutch Olympic Committee and the game’s world federation invoke the non-banning regulation and throw the seashore volleyball ball into Amsterdam’s canals: “The difficulty is delicate and we now have to respect the choices of the Dutch.” The duo of Van de Velde and Matthew Immers is among the many prime twelve on this planet and hopes to win a medal. Why not give him the flag on the closing ceremony too?
The appointment through Fb
The horrific incident occurred in early August 2014, when Steven van de Velde, then 19, left Amsterdam for Britain, the place he had a date with a 12-year-old woman. The 2 had been chatting on Fb however had by no means met. The fateful assembly happened in Milton Keynes, the place the little woman was alone, as her mom was away from house. Van de Velde doused her with alcohol and raped her a number of instances, in her room and in a close-by wilderness. The enormous athlete returned house unmolested, however the 12-year-old’s household reported him to the police.
A number of months later, following an settlement between the authorities on the 2 reverse shores of the North Sea, Van de Velde was extradited to Britain to face trial. In March 2016, two months after his arrest, the completed volleyball participant pleaded responsible to a few counts of rape, was sentenced to 4 years in jail, and noticed his identify indelibly written on the intercourse offenders’ watch listing.
“Younger man, you’ve got ruined an excellent sporting profession and you will have the rapist label caught to your bum for all times,” the decide in Aylesbury instructed him earlier than ringing the bell. “Now you might be by no means going to symbolize your nation within the Olympics.” Cradle that rocked essentially the most sincere…
English legislation defines “genital act with a minor” however the Dutch Court docket modified the unique cost to rape, in response to its felony code. The convict was taken to Amsterdam and locked up within the bouzoou to serve his sentence. He was finally handled with leniency and solely spent a yr in jail.
Unrepentant
“The absence of any hint of regret and self-pity on this man is surprising,” mentioned the British Neighborhood for the Safety of Youngsters from Violence in London. Earlier than the ink was dry on the protest announcement Van de Velde had already donned his swimsuit and was spilling onto the seashores of seashore volleyball, with the blessing of the Dutch federation. He turned a world once more inside a yr. He already had participation within the 2015 European Video games in Baku underneath his belt.
“I used to be a misplaced teenager who was wished and did not know what he was doing,” the pedophile justified himself in an interview in 2018. On the day he was launched, nevertheless, he referred to as the costs “silly” and mentioned he was decided to shake the stigma off him: “I am not a monster nor a pedophile.”
Six years later, 30-year-old Steven van de Velde, married to the (psychologist and policewoman) sister of the German soccer participant Kevin Behrens and father of a kid, pins the pardon card in his passport and prepares undaunted for town of sunshine, to have fun the tenth anniversary of his tumultuous andragathem. “I perceive that the matter will entice the eye of the worldwide press,” he wrote in an announcement hosted on the web site of the Dutch Volleyball Federation. “I can not flip again time, so I am going to need to undergo the implications. What I did was the most important mistake of my life.”
The second “rape” of the sufferer
“Steven van de Velde has adopted the phrases of his sentencing to the letter and has returned to the pitches underneath the strict {and professional} supervision of a reintegration programme. Since he reached the participation limits, he’s now a member of the Olympic crew. We belief the opinion of the specialists, who take into account the potential of a brand new offense to be zero,” introduced the Dutch Volleyball Federation to defend its selection.
The woman who was raped by van de Velde in Milton Keynes tried to kill herself with an overdose of drugs and underwent gastric lavage to save lots of herself. Sinking into despair, she self-harmed a number of instances within the years that adopted. Agreed, however “her rapist shouldn’t be suspected of recidivism.” So what does she need anymore…
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