A senior official with the Dutch Olympic committee has insisted that a convicted child rapist in its beach volleyball team is not a paedophile, in an email seen by the Guardian.
A concerned British man who has lived in the Netherlands for more than a decade, wrote to the Dutch Olympic committee and called the inclusion of Steven van de Velde in the team “a stain on the Dutch national side”. In a reply the Dutch Olympic committee spokesperson wrote: “Steven is NOT a peadophile [sic]; you really don’t think that de Dutch NOC would send someone to Paris who IS a real risk? No, he isn’t a risk.”
There has been mounting public anger at the presence of the beach volleyball player Van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl in 2016. Earlier this week the International Olympic Committee faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024. The IOC has said the selection of athletes for the Games was the responsibility of individual committees.
Van de Velde, who is now 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping the girl in Milton Keynes. He had flown to England to meet her in 2014 with full knowledge of her age, having met her on Facebook. He served 12 months in a British prison, before being transferred to his home country where he was released after a further month.
The backlash has cast a shadow over one of the Olympics’ most eye-catching events, held in an outdoor stadium at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Van de Velde is slated to play on Sunday.
In a statement the Nederlands Olympisch Comité*Nederlandse Sport Federatie’ (NOC*NSF) said it had put in place “concrete measures” to ensure a safe sporting environment for all Olympics participants in light of Van de Velde’s participation. At his request he is not staying in the Olympic village and will do no media.
The NOC*NSF said: “Van de Velde has fully engaged with all requirements and has met all the stringent risk assessment thresholds, checks and due diligence. Experts have stated that there is no risk of recidivism. Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life. He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved. He has been open about the personal transformation he has undergone as a result.”
The British man said he was “shocked” by the response he received after he wrote to the Dutch Olympic committee press team asking what the communications strategy would be if Van de Velde won a medal. The man – who does not want to be named – referred to Van de Velde as “a paedophile, and convicted child rapist” and asked what his victim and her parents said about his participation.
As well as disputing that he was a paedophile, the official urged him to read more about the case and not to “believe all the headlines”. The official added: “We are taking measures to make sure that everybody can focus on sports, on the Games. Not the story of the past of this beach volleyballer, who has played on all the international tournaments since 2018.”
The Dutch NOC continues to come under fire from groups representing survivors of sexual abuse, with one group accusing the committee of not thinking “at all about the potential impact on survivors of seeing a child rapist at the Olympics”.
The Brave Movement, a movement of survivors of child sexual violence which is part of Together for Girls, said it had not been consulted by Dutch Olympic committee. In an open letter it said the child Van de Velde raped would face “lifelong consequences”, adding: “Perpetrators move on. Those they abuse are left searching for healing and justice. We need a world centred around survivors, not perpetrators.”
The Brave Movement added that there was “still time” for Van de Velde to withdraw or for the Dutch Olympic committee to withdraw him. “We believe that is the only appropriate action,” it said.
