Convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde denied Australian visa for Beach Volleyball World Championships
Iris van den Broek/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19, has been denied entry to Australia for November’s Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide.
Van de Velde had been selected to represent the Netherlands at the competition, as he did at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris. A statement issued by the official Dutch beach volleyball team confirmed Van de Velde had his visa application rejected.
Heleen Crielaard, technical director of the Dutch volleyball association, said the association was “aware this could happen”, adding it had submitted “all the documents requested by the Australian authorities” and that it had explained why Van de Velde should be allowed to compete.
“Unfortunately, we have now been informed that the decision has been made not to grant the visa,” Crielaard added. “We regret this, but we have no choice but to accept the decision.”
Van de Velde said: “We took into account that the combination of the Australian authorities’ policy and my past might pose a problem for obtaining a visa. This outcome is not only acceptable to me, but also to the rest of the team with whom we have been working closely all year.”
The 31-year-old’s withdrawal means his team-mate, Alexander Brouwer, is also unable to compete at the World Championships, which begin on November 14.
In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of raping a 12-year-old girl, with whom he had talked online frequently for several months. The offences took place in 2014.
He served 13 months in prison, 12 of them in Britain, before he was transferred to the Netherlands and resentenced to a shorter term under Dutch law. He was released in 2017.
The Dutch team has said it will compete with five teams rather than six, opting not to replace Van de Velde and Brouwer.
Nov 3, 2025
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