Speaker 1: Just a heads up. Today's episode contains distressing themes, including
Speaker 1: discussions of child sexual abuse. Listener, discretion is advised already
Speaker 1: And this is the Daily This is the Daily os Oh,
Speaker 1: now it makes sense.
Speaker 2: Good morning and welcome to the Daily Odds. It's Thursday,
Speaker 2: the thirtieth of October.
Speaker 1: I'm Lucy Tassel, I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2: The Federal government has rejected the visa of a Dutch
Speaker 2: beach volleyball player due to a conviction of child rape.
Speaker 2: Stephen van Dervelt had sought to enter Australia for the
Speaker 2: World Beach Volleyball Championships in Adelaide, being held in November.
Speaker 2: In today's episode, we explain the context behind the government's decision,
Speaker 2: including Van der Veldt's crime, his sentencing, and his continued
Speaker 2: athletic career.
Speaker 1: Lucy, this story has been bubbling away for a few
Speaker 1: few weeks now. There was a change dot org petition
Speaker 1: that emerged in the last few weeks essentially seeking to
Speaker 1: block this beach volleyballer, Stephen Vandervelt from entering Australia. So
Speaker 1: can you take me back to the start. Who is
Speaker 1: this guy and what do we need to know about him.
Speaker 2: So. Stephen van Derveld is a beach volleyball player from
Speaker 2: the Netherlands. He's represented his country at the highest level.
Speaker 2: He's currently thirty one years old, and most importantly, he
Speaker 2: is a child sex offender. Back in twenty fourteen, he
Speaker 2: was nineteen at the time, so an adult. He repeatedly
Speaker 2: messaged a British twelve year old girl on Facebook. They
Speaker 2: had kind of met on Facebook, and he then flew
Speaker 2: to England where he raped her. His defense team later
Speaker 2: argued that the girl had consented, but given she was
Speaker 2: a twelve year old child at the time, she could
Speaker 2: not actually give consent.
Speaker 1: So, Lucy, I'm assuming this obviously went to based on
Speaker 1: the fact. You know, you've mentioned defense team, a legal team.
Speaker 1: How did authorities get involved in the first place?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So Vandervelt told the girl to take the morning
Speaker 2: after pill and given her age. When she went to
Speaker 2: a local clinic, staff alerted authorities. He was already on
Speaker 2: his way back to the Netherlands at that time, so
Speaker 2: he flew in one day the rape occurred. He went
Speaker 2: back home straight away. In February twenty sixteen, he pleaded
Speaker 2: guilty to three counts of child rape. He was sentenced
Speaker 2: to four years in jail in March of that year,
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1: Wow, that is extremely disturbing but fascinating that authorities really
Speaker 1: only learned about this because that young young girl went
Speaker 1: to a clinic seeking the morning after pill.
Speaker 2: Yes, so then at the time the judge said, quote,
Speaker 2: she was a child age twelve. You were fully aware
Speaker 2: of that fact. You were a potential olympian. You had
Speaker 2: the possibility of a stellar future presenting the Netherlands, referring
Speaker 2: that to the then upcoming twenty sixteen Summer Olympics.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more of today's deep dive
Speaker 1: right after a quick word from our sponsor, So Lucy,
Speaker 1: there were the twenty sixteen Summer Olympics. I'm assuming Van
Speaker 1: der Veld missed those because he was sentenced to imprisonment
Speaker 1: following that child rape incident. But we're obviously talking about
Speaker 1: him today nearly ten years later. So he has served
Speaker 1: his time and made a return to professional sport. How
Speaker 1: did that unfold?
Speaker 2: A year into his four year sentence, Vandervelt was allowed
Speaker 2: to return to the Netherlands to serve the rest of
Speaker 2: his time.
Speaker 1: Okay, so he went to a UK prison because that's
Speaker 1: where the crime occurred.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so he had been extradited to the UK to
Speaker 2: face charges. He pleads guilty, he serves a year of
Speaker 2: jail time under a treaty between the two countries. He
Speaker 2: was then returned to the Netherlands to finish out the sentence.
Speaker 2: But something I didn't know about until researching this story
Speaker 2: is how different the laws governing child sexual abuse were
Speaker 2: in the Netherlands at the time. Specifically, they have since
Speaker 2: been updated in some respects. So Vandervelt's actions were then
Speaker 2: considered less serious under Dutch law as they would have
Speaker 2: been under British law. They were classified as basically in
Speaker 2: decent assault. Some of the other sources I was looking
Speaker 2: at said fornication, which is kind of an archaic word.
Speaker 2: I think that might have just been a translation thing.
Speaker 2: But the general gist that I got is that this
Speaker 2: was something that was considered rape under British law in
Speaker 2: decent assault under Dutch law, okay, And that meant that
Speaker 2: soon after he returned to the Netherlands to serve out
Speaker 2: his time, his sentence was reconsidered essentially under Dutch law,
Speaker 2: because if he was serving time there, then he was
Speaker 2: under their law. That meant that. About a month after
Speaker 2: returning to the Netherlands, he was freed from jail and
Speaker 2: his professional sporting care continued. In fact, he was named
Speaker 2: to the Dutch beach volleyball team for the twenty twenty
Speaker 2: four Paris Olympics.
Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, what was the reaction like to that from
Speaker 1: within the sporting world.
Speaker 2: Within the sporting world, it was a mixed reaction. People
Speaker 2: booed him at his events at the Games, and he
Speaker 2: stayed outside of the athletes village and at the time,
Speaker 2: the head of Australia's Olympic team, Ana Mears, said words
Speaker 2: to the effect of if that had happened here, you
Speaker 2: wouldn't have been allowed to compete. But obviously the Netherlands
Speaker 2: Volleyball Association had a different perspective ahead of the games
Speaker 2: kicking off, they said. Quote. After his release, Vandervelt sought
Speaker 2: and received professional counseling. He has demonstrated to those around
Speaker 2: him privately and professionally self insight and reflection, they also said. Quote.
Speaker 2: In twenty sixteen, Van Derveldt was convicted in England of
Speaker 2: having sex with an underage girl, which who is rape
Speaker 2: under English law and fornication under Dutch law, so you
Speaker 2: can really see there are these two different standards that
Speaker 2: are being applied to the same crime depending on the country.
Speaker 2: In the Anti did compete and the men's beach volleyball
Speaker 2: team came ninth.
Speaker 1: So all of that was last year. We're talking about
Speaker 1: the July Paris Olympics. It's now more than a year
Speaker 1: later and his presence at a sporting event has caused
Speaker 1: disruption and dispute. Again, this is a professional athlete who
Speaker 1: is a convicted child sex offender. What has happened in
Speaker 1: the last few weeks? Why is he back in the headlines.
Speaker 2: Vandervelt was selected to represent the Netherlands at the World
Speaker 2: Championships of Beach Volleyball that are taking place in Adelaide
Speaker 2: next month, and he's got a partner in this because
Speaker 2: it's the paired sport, Alexander Brewer. A petition was then
Speaker 2: started by activist group What Were You Wearing Australia to
Speaker 2: block him from entering the country on the grounds that
Speaker 2: he has this child sexual abuse offense. As that petition
Speaker 2: picked up steam, South Australian Attorney General Kaya Mar wrote
Speaker 2: to the federal government asking it to cancel Vandervelt's visa
Speaker 2: he said, quote, this individual's offending is utterly abhorrent and
Speaker 2: we do not believe that foreign sex offenders should be
Speaker 2: granted entry to this country. We've discussed on this podcast
Speaker 2: before when we were talking about Candice Owens. Yes, the
Speaker 2: federal government can refuse visa's Minister Tony Burke, the Home
Speaker 2: Affairs Minister has a few different grounds to refuse someone
Speaker 2: entry to the country.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. That role is set up basically to give the
Speaker 1: Home Affairs Minister a range of powers to decide when
Speaker 1: or if someone should not be allowed into the country.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So one of those reasons is if they believe
Speaker 2: allowing someone to enter Australia would not be in the
Speaker 2: best interests of Australian children, and the minister can flag
Speaker 2: a character concern which can include I'm quoting directly from
Speaker 2: the Act here, a court in Australia or a foreign
Speaker 2: country has convicted the person of one or more sexually
Speaker 2: based defenses involving a child. So obviously Van Dervelt has
Speaker 2: three charges of child rape in the UK. That would
Speaker 2: be the grounds and that is why we believe his
Speaker 2: visa has been rejected.
Speaker 1: Okay, so his convictions immediately meet those qualifications. For a
Speaker 1: visa cancelation. What has the reaction been like? Because obviously
Speaker 1: he still competes as a professional athlete in some countries
Speaker 1: and obviously in his home country, but there is this
Speaker 1: international event in Adelaide that he is now excluded from.
Speaker 1: What's the reaction been like.
Speaker 2: The Dutch Volleyball Association confirmed the decision. It said it
Speaker 2: quote regrets the outcome but accepts it. Van Dervelt also
Speaker 2: said he understood why this had happened. He said his
Speaker 2: criminal conviction made approval quote a problem. The Netherlands have
Speaker 2: withdrawn from the event as his teammate can't compete without him.
Speaker 2: It's a paired sport. And Volleyball Australia acknowledged the ruling,
Speaker 2: saying it was awaiting a decision from the International Beach
Speaker 2: Volleyball Association on the possibility of a quote replacement team.
Speaker 2: I think to make up the numbers in the brackets.
Speaker 1: Wow, a very disturbing, fascinating story. Thank you so much
Speaker 1: for taking us through that one today, Lucy. Thanks Emma,
Speaker 1: and if today's episode has raised any concerns for you,
Speaker 1: help is available through one eight hundred respect on one
Speaker 1: eight hundred seven three seven seven three to two or
Speaker 1: during business hours on weekdays. You can also contact the
Speaker 1: Brave Hearts hotline for adult survivors of child sexual abuse.
Speaker 1: They're available on one eight hundred two seven two eight
Speaker 1: three one. We will of course put those numbers in
Speaker 1: the episode description. That's it for today's Deep Dive, but
Speaker 1: we will be back this afternoon with your evening headlines.
Speaker 1: Until then, have a good day.
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