What do you think of the Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of rape being allowe

[Corie]

I keep reading more about this guy and I'm getting so pissed. I firmly believe that he should have served a longer jail term
and that he should NOT have been allowed to participate in the Olympics. And, can you believe this guy is married?? Would you
marry a man that raped a 12 year old? They also have a child together.

https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/du...n-van-de-velde

I took these paragraphs from an article linked above.

"Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. The athlete admitted to taking a cheap flight from Amsterdam to North London in 2014 after the two communicated online for several months. Initially, Van de Velde believed the girl was 16, but she eventually informed him she was only 12. He still decided to fly to her hometown.

Van de Velde gave the minor alcohol and then raped her multiple times, "including one instance of vaginal sex during which she complained he was hurting her," as reported by The Athletic. He urged the victim to get a morning-after pill to avoid pregnancy. The staff at the family planning clinic then alerted the minor's family because of her age.

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison, including 12 months in Britain, before getting transferred to the Netherlands under a treaty. He was released in early 2017 following a resentencing for a shorter term. After being released, he told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, ?I have been branded as a sex monster, as a pedophile. That I am not ? really not.?

[bisous]

This article indicates he served his time however I read elsewhere that when the UK allowed him to be transferred back to the Netherlands he was released so he only served 13 months of the 4 yrs he was orig sentenced to. I believe he has been competing since then. It is shameful that he is at the Olympics. The Olympics is supposed to be about representing your country and an honor. I read in another article that the Netherlands had other strong pairs so it wasn?t like he was their only choice. He groomed this young girl, flew to another country and plied her with alcohol. He raped her multiplie times including when she expressed that he was hurting her. The young age is a hard stop. No one that young is able to provide consent. There was so much involved in his crime. It was not a simple mistake or slight error in judgment.

You know what. I totally agree with this. Like I think as a person maybe I can learn to forgive this guy and not personally harm him, but that DOES NOT mean that he should represent his country or be allowed the privileges of being an Olympic athlete. I also think 4 years is just not long enough of a sentence, let alone 13 months. That girl's life changed irrevocably.

[chlobo]

You know what. I totally agree with this. Like I think as a person maybe I can learn to forgive this guy and not personally harm him, but that DOES NOT mean that he should represent his country or be allowed the privileges of being an Olympic athlete. I also think 4 years is just not long enough of a sentence, let alone 13 months. That girl's life changed irrevocably.

To me it's a crime with no real consequences. The kind that totally pisses me off. It reminds me of the Brock turner case which still enrages me.

[StantonHyde]

To me it's a crime with no real consequences. The kind that totally pisses me off. It reminds me of the Brock turner case which still enrages me.

Yes--as a PP said-it's another example of privileged white men getting away with sexual assault because that's the way the system works. God forbid their lives should be damaged. The blame firmly belongs with the Netherlands justice system and its Olympic committee. I don't understand why they commuted his sentence.

On one hand, you can say--well, he did his time and has rehabilitated himself. I know people who work with perpetrators to do this and rehabilitation is possible. (but this guy didn't do any time, etc) What if he killed somebody, did his time, and then made a team? I don't know that you can say anybody who has been convicted of a felony can't go to the Olympics. And athletes actually sue their Olympic Committees if they are not selected--it has resulted in big changes in how equestrian teams are selected, for example. Bottom line--the optics for the Netherlands volleyball team are BAD.

This guy isn't going to get any sponsors (I hope) and is apparently being booed by the fans. As for a PP's comment about how could he be married and have a child--who would marry him. Happens all the time. People believe the person is changed or it won't happen to them.

[jgenie]

I keep reading more about this guy and I'm getting so pissed. I firmly believe that he should have served a longer jail term
and that he should NOT have been allowed to participate in the Olympics. And, can you believe this guy is married?? Would you
marry a man that raped a 12 year old? They also have a child together.

https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/du...n-van-de-velde

I took these paragraphs from an article linked above.

"Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. The athlete admitted to taking a cheap flight from Amsterdam to North London in 2014 after the two communicated online for several months. Initially, Van de Velde believed the girl was 16, but she eventually informed him she was only 12. He still decided to fly to her hometown.

Van de Velde gave the minor alcohol and then raped her multiple times, "including one instance of vaginal sex during which she complained he was hurting her," as reported by The Athletic. He urged the victim to get a morning-after pill to avoid pregnancy. The staff at the family planning clinic then alerted the minor's family because of her age.

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison, including 12 months in Britain, before getting transferred to the Netherlands under a treaty. He was released in early 2017 following a resentencing for a shorter term. After being released, he told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, ?I have been branded as a sex monster, as a pedophile. That I am not ? really not.?

I saw that and thought the same thing. It’s one thing to have not known about something and quite another to go forward despite knowing. People can rationalize anything if they want something enough.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I keep reading more about this guy and I'm getting so pissed. I firmly believe that he should have served a longer jail term
and that he should NOT have been allowed to participate in the Olympics. And, can you believe this guy is married?? Would you
marry a man that raped a 12 year old? They also have a child together.

https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/du...n-van-de-velde

I took these paragraphs from an article linked above.

"Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. The athlete admitted to taking a cheap flight from Amsterdam to North London in 2014 after the two communicated online for several months. Initially, Van de Velde believed the girl was 16, but she eventually informed him she was only 12. He still decided to fly to her hometown.

Van de Velde gave the minor alcohol and then raped her multiple times, "including one instance of vaginal sex during which she complained he was hurting her," as reported by The Athletic. He urged the victim to get a morning-after pill to avoid pregnancy. The staff at the family planning clinic then alerted the minor's family because of her age.

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison, including 12 months in Britain, before getting transferred to the Netherlands under a treaty. He was released in early 2017 following a resentencing for a shorter term. After being released, he told the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, ?I have been branded as a sex monster, as a pedophile. That I am not ? really not.?

i 100% agree with you. i hadn't heard of this case until seeing this thread. Only 13 months in prison for raping a 12 yo is so insulting and infuriating.
i think he shouldn't be allowed to be in the Olympics and represent his country. the bigger issue to me is that he served such little time for this crime - that's insane.

i think the tricky issue is, he served time for his crime (albeit ridiculously short), so if they don't let him participate, does that mean that anyone convicted of a violent crime in their past and has served time cannot participate in Olympics? I can see cases where maybe someone in their teen years committed a violent act to escape abuse or something and they were convicted/ served time got their life together - banning them I think would not make sense. Though I personally think rape or sexual abuse is a special case that there is no excuse for and should result in banning from participating, regardless of how much time they served for it.

This all reminds me of Brock Turner, the Stanford swimmer who only served 3 months for rape (UGH). But didn't USA swimming kick him out?

[Corie]

This all reminds me of Brock Turner, the Stanford swimmer who only served 3 months for rape (UGH). But didn't USA swimming kick him out?

So, I've been busy googling Brock Turner after you and Chlobo mentioned him. Yes, USA Swimming banned him for life.

"Turner had aspirations to swim for the U.S. National Team in the 2016 Olympics, but USA Swimming stated on June 6 that he would not be eligible for membership if he sought to reapply. On June 10, USA Swimming reiterated that it had banned Turner for life under their zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct. This decision effectively ended Turner's competitive swimming career. Sanctioned meets in the United States, including the Olympic trials, are open only to members of USA Swimming."

[LBW]

FYI he goes by Allen Turner now. Still a rapist.

And shame on the Netherlands for allowing a rapist to compete on their national team.

And I?ll never understand how we?ve allowed a man with no moral compass to have such political success. What a sad legacy for our children.

[div_0305]

FYI he goes by Allen Turner now. Still a rapist.

And shame on the Netherlands for allowing a rapist to compete on their national team.

And I?ll never understand how we?ve allowed a man with no moral compass to have such political success. What a sad legacy for our children.

Agree, shame on the Netherlands for allowing this. Disgusting.