A Dutch former international beach volleyball player has been jailed for four years by a court in England for the rape of a 12-year-old girl.

Steven van der Velde, who travelled to England in August 2014 to meet the girl after meeting her on Facebook, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child in court last month. In British law, having sex with a minor is classed as rape, even if the girl consented.

Sentencing him at Aylesbury crown court, judge Francis Sheridan said: ‘You were a potential Olympian. You had the possibility of a stellar future representing the Netherlands.

‘She was a child aged 12. You were fully aware of that fact. The law in England and Wales is very clear: any child under 13 cannot consent to sex.’

Self harm

The judge said the girl, who has subsequently self-harmed by cutting herself and taking an overdose, was naive, immature and believed she loved him.

He went on: ‘You were the adult. She was the child. Until you realise that, you will be a danger to young girls.’

Van de Velde, Dutch beach volleyball champion in 2015, appeared at Aylesbury crown court via a video link from Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes.

Prosecutor Sandra Beck said Van de Velde was aware of the girl’s age. He truthfully told her he was 19. She told him she was seven years younger.

Special

He travelled from Amsterdam on Saturday 2 August 2014, having booked a return ticket with EasyJet that day. The girl told her mother she was staying with a friend for the weekend and arranged a taxi from Luton airport to Milton Keynes.

The prosecutor went on: ‘She had got very close to him via Facebook and they spoke regularly. He made her feel very special. They Skyped and spoke on Snapchat.

‘He is a member of the national volleyball team and she liked what she saw.”

The couple spent time at Furtzton lake in the city and the next day went to the girl’s house as she knew her mother was out shopping that day where they had sex.

The girl’s mother became aware of what had happened when she was contacted by a clinic where her daughter had gone to get the morning after pill and the police were called.  She was interviewed by police the following Wednesday.

Defending, Linda Strudwick said: ‘They had been in daily communication for a number of months and it continued when he went back to Holland. It was a very caring and loving relationship.

She said the girl was two weeks away from her 13th birthday and he was young for his age.

Arrest warrant

The girl contacted Van de Velde herself to tell him the police were involved and that a European arrest warrant had been issued.

The defence lawyer went on: ‘There is genuine remorse. He has lost a stellar sports career and has been branded a rapist. Plainly it is a career end for him.’

She said as a result of the conviction he had been called a ‘sex monster’ in Holland but said he was an immature young man. Referring to the girl Ms Strudwick said: ‘She loved him and wanted to please him . She said she wanted to lose her virginity to him.’

‘He wants her to know it is his not her fault. He wants her to make a success of her life and be happy,’ the lawyer told the court.

Van de Velde will be on the sex offender register for life and will be deported at the end of his sentence.

Additional reporting by South Beds News Agency/Fairley’s