r/nottheonion • u/DerangedUnicorn27 • 6d ago

Convicted child rapist qualifies for Olympics

https://www.newsweek.com/steven-van-de-velde-dutch-beach-volleyball-olympics-1918442
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u/osku1204 6d ago

Their whole argument is "Well he paid his debt To society, shouldnt he get a change?" calling getting a one year sentence In a dutch prison paying your debt To society is mind numbing.

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u/DelirousDoc 6d ago

TBF. The Dutch don't view prison as "paying the debt to society" but as the purpose of rehabilitating criminals and to only hold criminals where it is absolutely necessary for safety of the community. I could get behind this thinking.

That being said, 1 year is not enough time to ensure this man is not a danger to the community in my opinion.

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u/x3tan 6d ago

Doesn't help that even following "rehabilitation", he's not because he doesn't seem to have any remorse about it. He apparently groomed her from 10years old.

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u/dtwhitecp 5d ago

"it's been the biggest mistake of my life" sounds like remorse, for what it's worth

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u/ferret_80 5d ago

Remorse for getting caught, for loosing a year of his life. He's not remorseful for grooming and raping a child. He did not care at all about the girl at trial.