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’.
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.