A Dutch Olympian athlete convicted of raping a child in Britain nearly a decade ago has been barred from entering Australia to compete in an upcoming beach volleyball competition.
Steven van de Velde was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to raping a 12-year-old British girl he had met on social media. He was 19 years old at the time. He served just over a year of his sentence before returning to professional volleyball in 2018.
South Australian attorney general Kyam Maher had urged the federal government to deny Van de Velde’s visa, describing his offence as “utterly abhorrent”.
Mr Maher said in his letter: “It is my view, and that of the South Australian government, that Mr Van de Velde should not be granted a visa. This individual’s offending is utterly abhorrent, and we do not believe that foreign child sex offenders should be granted entry to this country.”
Australia’s minister for home affairs, Tony Burke, confirmed that the federal government had refused Van de Velde a visa.
“The government will continue to use every tool we have available to ensure that Australians can be safe and feel safe in their communities,” Mr Burke said.
The Beach Volleyball World Championships in Australia starts in Adelaide on 14 November.
Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee was informed of the government’s decision on Tuesday morning.
“As local organising committee, our focus remains on ensuring we deliver a spectacular world championships,” Mr Dee said.
“It will be the biggest beach volleyball event in the world this year and the first time we will have nine Aussie teams proudly wearing the green and gold. That is what we all should now focus on and celebrate.”
Van de Velde, who represented the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics last year, acknowledged the visa denial in a statement released through the Dutch Volleyball Association.
“We took into account that the combination of the policies of the Australian authorities and my past might pose a problem for obtaining a visa,” he said in the statement.
“This outcome is accepted not only by me, but also by the rest of the team with whom we have been working closely throughout the year.”
Last year, the International Olympic Committee said it had no authority to prevent the Netherlands from sending a duly qualified athlete.
The Dutch Volleyball Association’s technical director, Heleen Crielaard, said that they were “aware this could happen”.
“For this application, we have attached all the documents requested by the Australian authorities and substantiated why we think he should be able to play the World Cup in Australia,” Ms Crielaard said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we have now been told that it has been decided not to issue the visa. We think that’s a shame, but we have no choice but to accept the decision.”
The move by Australian authorities also followed a public outcry. An online petition calling for Van de Velde to be denied entry gathered more than 4,000 signatures.
Van de Velde’s exclusion from the world championships also sidelines his teammate, Alexander Brouwer.
According to a BBC report last year, in his earlier interviews with Dutch media, Van de Velde admitted that, “I can’t reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life”.
Just two weeks ago, the High Court of Australia upheld the federal government’s decision to deny a visa to American commentator Candace Owens, rejecting her legal challenge.
Mr Burke had refused Ms Owens’s visa under the character test, citing concerns she could incite community discord and that her visit was not in the national interest.
He had earlier said: “Australia's national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”
“From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [Nazi physician Josef] Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction,” Mr Burke said.
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