This Dutch Convicted Child Rapist Volleyball Player Has Been Denied A Visa To Australia
Van de Velde’s visa was denied and the government said it will “ensure that Australians can be safe and feel safe in their communities.”
This Dutch convicted child rapist volleyball player has been denied a visa to Australia.
In 2014, Steven van de Velde, who was 19 at the time, flew from Amsterdam to England to meet with a 12-year-old girl he had met on Facebook.
He gave the girl alcohol when her mother was out and then raped her several times.
The sexual assaults were only discovered after the girl visited a sexual health clinic to get the morning-after pill, following advice from Van de Velde himself.
In 2016, van de Velde was found guilty of rape, sentenced to four years in prison and placed on the UK’s sex offender registry for life.
During the hearing, he admitted that he was fully aware of the girl’s age.
After serving only one year of his sentence, van de Velde was transferred back to the Netherlands and released shortly after, according to Dutch law.
When he was released in 2017, he denied that he was a “sex monster”.
The Dutch volleyball federation then allowed him to resume playing in international competitions and supported him despite widespread condemnation.
In 2024, it even chose him to represent the country in the Paris Olympics, saying he has proved to be “an exemplary professional and human being”.
It added that van de Velde, who is now 31, married and has a child, had gotten professional counselling after being released and had the federation’s full support.
In November 2025, Van de Velde was due to fly to Australia to attend the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, starting Nov. 14.
The Deputy Premier of South Australia then wrote to the government to request that van de Velde’s visa be denied, calling van de Velde’s crime as “utterly abhorrent”.
The government later confirmed that van de Velde’s visa was denied and said the government will “ensure that Australians can be safe and feel safe in their communities.”
The Dutch volleyball association said they had no choice but to accept the decision.
Steph Lu
