He flew from the Netherlands to the UK to have sex with her. He did not use a condom, so he advised her to get the morning after pill. The authorities were notified when she tried to obtain the morning after pill at a family planning clinic. He pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child and a British court sentenced him to four years in prison. After serving 12 months, he was transferred back to the Netherlands where he was resentenced to a shorter shorter term under Dutch law. He served a total of 13 month. After he was released in 2017, he returned to his competitive beach volleyball career, representing the Netherlands at the European championships and the Olympics.
His presence at the Paris Olympics was controversial. He was booed during his volleyball match and then was seen crying at a press conference afterward, saying, “I did something wrong, ten years ago. I have to accept that. But hurting people around me—whether it’s [teammate Matthew Immers], my wife, my child… that just goes too far for me. That’s definitely a moment where I thought: Is [coming to the Olympics] worth it?” But he decided to compete at the Olympics despite the controversy: “I’m not going to give others the power to decide that they can bully me away or get rid of me.” He claimed to be the target of what he described as bullying and said coverage of his criminal history was unfair.
Michel Everaert, the general director of the Dutch Volleyball Association (Nevobo), claimed that the booing had been instigated by British newspapers: “They stirred up the whole story, those English tabloids. They didn’t get what they wanted in the first match and then they just went around to incite people. And then also via social media.”
The IOC took zero responsibility, saying that it’s up to each country to decide which athletes to bring to the Olympics. At the time, both the British Olympic Association and the Australian Olympic team said that they would not have permitted Van de Velde to be on their Olympic teams due to their safeguarding rules.
“The government will continue to use every tool we have available to ensure that Australians can be safe and feel safe in their communities,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said. Australia has long used wide discretion to refuse foreigners temporary visas under what is known as the “character test.” In July, they denied Kanye West permission to travel to Australia (where his wife Bianca Censori is from), citing his recently released song Heil H*tl*r. Last month, they denied Candace Owens’ visa application, citing her “extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred.” Like van de Velde, their visas were rejected under Australia’s character requirements under the Migration Act, which protects the Australian community from visitors who would “stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”