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Conviction of Dutch Olympian for rape prompts Florida Senator to protest

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Conviction of Dutch Olympian for rape prompts Florida Senator to protest

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While most of the attention at the 2024 Olympic Games is focused on the spectacular opening ceremony, the absolute dominance of gymnast Simone Biles, the social media fame of US rugby player Ilona Maher and the viral sensation of American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik’s pommel horse routine, a Dutch volleyball player has been making headlines. Not good ones.

Steven van de Velde, who played for the Netherlands in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday, was convicted in 2016 of raping a 12-year-old English girl he met online. According to the MK Citizen’s report on the 2016 trial, van de Velde knew her age and deflowered her. Authorities were notified when she tried to obtain a morning-after pill.

After global outcry and backlash when it was revealed that he was an Olympian, Dutch officials defended his participation in the Games and kept him away from the Olympic Village and the media. The International Olympic Committee said who participates in the Games is “the sole responsibility of each National Olympic Committee.”

According to The Mirror, van de Velde was booed by fans during the game the Netherlands lost to Italy on Sunday.

Now Lauren Book (D-Davie), chair of the Democratic minority group in the Florida Senate, has filed a petition calling on the IOC to permanently ban convicted pedophiles from participating in the Olympic Games.

“As a society, we must send a clear and unequivocal message that child sexual abuse is intolerable and will be punished with the utmost consequences,” Book said in a press release. “That means holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring they have no opportunity to regain positions of influence and trust, especially at high-profile events like the Olympics.”

“The IOC, as a leading international organization, has a moral obligation to uphold these standards and set an example for others to follow,” the senator said. “The world is watching.”

Book herself was sexually abused as a child and founded the charity Lauren’s Kids to fight for tougher sentences for sex offenders. She has written two books: “Lauren’s Kingdom” and “It’s OK to Tell: A Story of Hope and Recovery.”

Anyone wishing to sign Book’s petition can do so at laurenskids.org/ioc-petition.

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Fact-checking claims about athletes and events at the Paris Olympic Games

Numerous false claims have been made about athletes and events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

What did Steven van de Velde do?

In 2014, 19-year-old van de Velde travelled from Amsterdam to Milton Keynes, England, to have sex with her after chatting online for a while. A prosecutor said: “She made it very clear that she was seven years younger than him.”

After meeting her and staying overnight, he suggested she take the morning-after pill. When she did, the authorities got involved because she was about to turn 13.

At the time, van de Velde was part of the Dutch volleyball team and finished 17th at the World Championships. He was crowned Dutch champion and was planning to train for the 2016 Olympics just three days before an arrest warrant was issued against him, MKCitizen reported. Van de Velde confessed to three counts of rape and was sentenced to four years in prison for each count, to be served concurrently, and placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

After serving part of his sentence, he was transferred to the Netherlands and his sentence was adjusted to Dutch law. Van de Velde has been active in beach volleyball again since 2017.

Dutch Olympic officials said van de Velde “sought and received professional advice (and) demonstrated self-awareness and self-reflection to those around him – both privately and professionally.”

“I am grateful to the Dutch Volleyball Association,” said van de Velde in an earlier statement from the Dutch Volleyball Association (Nevobo), “because they have offered me a future in this beautiful sport again with clear conditions and agreements. But I also think back to the teenager I was, who was insecure, not ready for a life as a top athlete and unhappy inside because I didn’t know who I was and what I wanted.”

Fans on social media, athletes and Australian team boss Anna Meares sharply criticized the IOC for its inclusion.

“The safety and trust of our children and communities must take precedence over individual redress – and when it comes to the Olympic Games, it is irresponsible and offensive for the IOC to stand by and do nothing,” Book said.

Not the first child abuse scandal at the Olympics: Larry Nassar

Other criminal scandals have emerged at the Olympics, most notably when Larry Nassar, team doctor for the U.S. national gymnastics team, pleaded guilty to federal child pornography and state sexual abuse charges in 2017. Over 260 female athletes, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, came forward to accuse Nassar of sexually abusing children, often under the guise of medical treatment.

According to the FBI, more than 37,000 images containing child sexual abuse material and videos of Nassar sexually assaulting underage girls were seized.

Nassar was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison for the three charges and is currently serving time at Coleman Federal Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida.

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