Steven Van de Velde: Dutch volleyball player to compete in Paris Olympic Games after raping British girl, 12, in Milton Keynes
Steven Van de Velde will be representing his country at this summer’s Olympic Games according to national reports, however the now 29-year-old athlete was previously convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in Milton Keynes a decade ago. Van de Velde was 19 when he travelled to Milton Keynes, from his home country, to rape the girl.
He admitted to three counts of rape and was sentenced to four years in prison by a judge at Aylesbury Crown Court. However Van de Velde was released after being held in a jail in the Netherlands for just one year.
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Hide AdVan de Velde will be competing in the beach volleyball competition alongside his partner, Matthew Immers. The pair are ranked 10th best men’s team in the world by Fédération Internationale de Volleyball.
News outlet The Australian first reported the rapist would be going to the Olympics, but the Netherlands Volleyball Association has yet to formally submit its final selections for the games. The International Olympic Committee and The Dutch Olympic committee have not commented publicly, despite requests from national outlets. In 2014, a court in Aylesbury heard how the Dutchman’s fledgling sporting career was now “shattered’”. A judge said: “Prior to coming to this country you were training as a potential Olympian. Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream. Your actions in those two days in England have wrecked your life.”


During his sentencing, Aylesbury Crown Court heard how he met the girl, who has lifelong anonymity as a victim of a sexual offence, via Facebook. He knew how young she was at the time and took her virginity after plying her with alcohol. The court heard she also gave him oral sex.
An investigation was launched into Van de Velde after his victim tried to obtain a morning after pill. Police were contacted when the victim visited a family planning clinic, on his request, as the underage girl had had unprotected sex with her abuser.
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Hide AdVan de Velde was told his victim had self-harmed and overdosed since the incident. In 2017, he was criticised by a national child protection charity for a statement he released after leaving prison.
Van de Velde said: “I do want to correct all the nonsense that has been written about me when I was locked up. I have been branded as a sex monster, as a paedophile. That I am not, really not.” In response the NSPCC said: “We can only begin to imagine how distressed his victim must feel if she sees his comments. Grooming can leave a child feeling ashamed or even guilty because they believe they have somehow willingly participated when, in fact, an adult has preyed upon them in order to sexually exploit them."
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