The world has going immensely nuts;

• Genocide seems okay by most of the presidents.
• Calling for justice is a hate crime and gets you arrested.
• Racism and Fascism on the rise.
• Raping a 12 year old person seems to be okay, doesn’t get you labeled as a pedophile.
• Calling out that Zionism is in fact bad gets you the “antisemitic” name.
• Quoting Hitler seems to be okay
• Saying that you want to erase and nuke a whole group/race seems to be okay.

I’m seriously worried for the future.

Let's briefly set aside the fact that she was 12.

He was convicted of raping another person... period. That alone should disqualify him from representing his country at the Olympics.

Now back to your regular scheduled world wide publicity for Steven van de Velde, who repeatedly raped a 12 year old girl.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_van_de_Velde

Under a treaty between the Netherlands and UK, Van de Velde was transferred to the Netherlands to serve his sentence. The sentence was at that time adjusted in line with Dutch law, and the charge of rape was substituted for that of fornication.[11] After serving a year of his original four year sentence, he was released from prison.[8]

So basically the Dutch think it's ok for a 19 year old to get a 12 year old drunk and rape her.

The victim would eventually go on to self-harm and once overdosed.

Some people are saying it ok because it was consensual, this doesn't make it sound very consensual to me.

Wtf.

Is everyone here talking about Steven Van de Velde the child rapist and peadophile? I heard he only served 13 months for repeated raping a child who he encouraged to get the morning after pill. She self harms herself now due to the guilt. Is it that Steven Van de Velde, the child rapist you are talking about?

Pedophile or not, it doesn't matter. He's still a child rapist.

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.

This does sound just a tiny bit pedoey.

Well his Wikipedia page is the stuff of horror

In August 2014 van de Velde, then 19 years old, raped a 12-year-old girl he had met on Facebook who lived in Milton Keynes, England. He travelled to her home and, when her mother was out, gave her alcohol and then raped her several times at her home as well as near Furzton Lake which was nearby. The victim would eventually go on to self-harm and once overdosed. Van de Velde returned to the Netherlands after the rape, although he was eventually extradited to the United Kingdom and arrested in January 2016

After his release in 2017, van de Velde complained about "all the nonsense" reporting on his crime in the media, claiming that the term pedophile did not apply to him, without expanding further. At the same time he stated not yet having read any of the reporting he was criticizing. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) condemned his comments at the time, stating that his "lack of remorse and self-pity is breathtaking".

Okay, WHEW. I was getting worried that NL was going to let a pedophile rapist represent their country but it turns out they are merely letting a rapist of 12 year olds represent their country which, as we all know, is way better.

He raped a 12 year old. So yes he is. Put him in the registry.

Somehow, I think the more important part is the child rape conviction. If the Dutch Olympic Committee would rather Steven van de Velde be known as a convicted child rapist rather then a paedophile, then I think the Guardian could accommodate that.

Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life.

Raping a 12 year-old child is a misstep, people; relax! Yesterday I accidentally stepped in some dog poo; we're exactly the same!!!

This dude has no place in the Olympics. The Dutch standing behind him is disgraceful.

Meanwhile a female equestrian was banned for hitting a horse.

Maybe she should’ve fucked it, that would be fine it seems? 🤣

Are they talking about the pedophile Steven Van De Velde? The pedophile that likes having sex with children Steven Van De Velde? I think that guy might be a pedophile.

gotta love how the terfs defending trans women being excluded from the olympics are still saying that a guy who sa'ed a 12 year old girl is just misunderstood. maybe it's not actually about protecting children.

Alongside the rest of the comments...imagine being an elite-level volleyball player, being told that you're going to represent your country, and then being asked to partner up with a nonce.

Okay Mr. Official, if he is not a paedophile then what is he?

"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.”

Given how often powerful groups cover up and protect pedos in their ranks, yeah I do think they would send someone who's a risk. It's not surprising, just disappointing

So it was not a pedophilic rape, just a normal one? For funsies?

He might not be a pedophile, we'll never know, but he sure is literally a convicted child molester, wtf

Trump is already considering him for a position on his cabinet.

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.

So he was 19 at the time of rape. Sick fuck.

The whole situation aside... what is up with the email skills of the Dutch Olympic Committee? This email is legit worded like a text message or a Lemmy comment

"Steven is NOT a peadophile; 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.”

IOC officials seem to be a special breed of stupidity and naivety.

Sounds like the official isn't a decent human being.

I'll never get over the power of language. Here we have a man that raped a child and the controversy is over how to label the rapist.

No holy book in history has ever exercised more influence and control over society than the dictionary.