this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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Van de Velde was booed and jeered while competing at the Games. Dutch Olympic officials went to lengths to protect him from the press during the event.

He has now opened up to Dutch publication NOS about his experience, admitting that while he anticipated backlash, the intensity of it took him by surprise. "I definitely had a moment of breaking down, both before the tournament and during it. But I thought 'I'm not going to give others the power to bully me away or get me away'.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (8 children)

He was arrested, prosecuted and convicted. He pled guilty. He served his prison sentence and underwent psychological treatment. He has taken extensive measures to avoid contact with children. This all happened over a decade ago. He repeatedly reflected on what happened and regrets it to this day.

The child in question only seems to regret he was arrested, and cut herself because of it. She doesn't seem to think negatively about him at all, and because of that he was not convicted of grooming.

At this point, what the fuck more do you want from him? He's fully rehabilitated. He knows what he did, why it's bad and has done more than enough to prevent it from happening again. This "moral outrage" is just stupid and seems to be largely fuelled by right-wing British tabloids, because here in the Netherlands nobody seems to give a shit.

What's your message here? "Rape a child, rape a dozen, we don't care because we're going to ostracize you from society forever?" Why would anyone bother to rehabilitate then?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 months ago

we're going to ostracize you from society forever

That is very different from simply not wanting him to be a representative for his country and potential role model for aspiring athletes in one of the biggest media events of the world though. Being welcomed back as a member of society is one thing, but there is a point to be made about expecting more of Olympic athletes than your average member of society.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 months ago

The child in question only seems to regret he was arrested, and cut herself because of it.

You really do not understand the psychology of a rape victim.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/202105/why-some-rape-victims-continue-to-date-their-rapist

She doesn’t seem to think negatively about him at all, and because of that he was not convicted of grooming.

How do you know what she thinks today? There is a reason many countries do not consider a 12-year-old to be able to consent to sex. They don't understand sex. They don't understand rape. They may have only been menstruating for less than a year.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

Why are you defending a pedophile so hard in this thread?? He didn't even serve his full sentence since he was pulled out of the UK early. What we want from him is an apology for what he did, but it doesn't look like we will ever get that since he is now playing victim as the rapist. Maybe if he actually served his full sentence things would be a little different, but he got a small slap on the wrist for one of the worst crimes someone can commit. He should never have been sent to the Olympics as a representative of the Netherlands.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 months ago

I am glad you are saying this. I have started typing a similar comment several times, but didn't want to deal with the inevitable avalanche of comments from what seems to be the lemmy hive mind on this subject.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 3 months ago

no he didn't, so stop advocating for these types of people to represent, anything!

[–] [email protected] -3 points 3 months ago

Yes, child rapists should be ostracised forever. As adults, we have a responsibility to protect the children in our communities. Sorry if this is hard for you to understand but the safety of innocent children is infinitely more important than the poor delicate feelings of a child rapist. If they don't want to suffer the consequences of their actions, then they shouldn't do the bad thing.

Also, he didn't even serve the full sentence given by the court that sentenced him. So no, he did not serve his punishment. That's a load of shite. His government extradited him and let him off easy. And then they effectively spat on the whole punishment again by letting him represent his country anyway.

It doesn't matter how long ago it was. The harm was still real. And it screams "we care more about perpetrators' rights than victims." Or maybe they don't care because the victim wasn't Dutch. I don't know.

I do however agree that they shouldn't go after his family. He committed the crime, not them. Even if I am disgusted by the very idea of anyone willing to sleep with a nonce. Still not my business.