Olympics baby rapist Steven van de Velde poses for selfies with women
Posing for selfies with young girls, this is child rapist volleyball player Steven van de Velde at a tournament – just days moaning about the backlash he received at the Olympics, MailOnline can reveal.
Shortly after his tearful TV interview made global headlines, we found the 30-year-old Dutchman at the European Beach Volleyball championships in the Netherlands where he was given a rock star reception with parents encouraging their children to have photographs with the shamed sportsman.
Van de Velde, who served 12 months of a four-year jail sentence after admitting three counts of raping a 12-year-old British girl in Milton Keynes in 2014, happily signed autographs and gave a thumbs up as he and teammate Matthew Immers, 23, posed for photos with little girls who appeared as young as five as well as uniformed members of the Netherlands Red Cross after their win in the Hague.
Posing for selfies with young girls, this is child rapist volleyball player Steven van de Velde at a volleyball tournament. He is pictured with Olympic athlete Matthew Immers
Van de Velde pictured working out prior to his match against Poland
The 30-year-old Dutchman was at the European Beach Volleyball championships in the Netherlands where he was given a rock star reception with parents encouraging their children to have photographs with the shamed sportsman
The disgraced player spent almost an hour relaxing and laughing with fans
Children and their parents waited patiently for the pair after their victory; eagerly stepping forward to have their photos taken with van de Velde and Immers.
The disgraced player spent almost an hour relaxing and laughing with fans and friends following his and Immers’ 2-0 set win over Poland‘s Piotr Kantor and Jakub Zdybek at the beach stadium’s Centre Court on Thursday afternoon.
In stark contrast to the boos and jeers of Paris, the pair were met with rapturous applause from the mostly-home crowd, with spectators even comically bowing down amid thumping dance music following van de Velde’s ‘monster block’ of his opponent’s shot.
One fan even wielded a green banner bearing van de Velde’s name and outside the court, giant flags bore his and Immers’ faces alongside fellow Dutch athletes.
Van de Velde, who sported tattoos including an eight-ball skewered by a bone with the word ‘lucky’, appeared relaxed during the match as he wore his wedding ring and sipped from a water bottle which bore the handwritten message, ‘create the perfect opportunity’.
In stark contrast to the boos and jeers of Paris, the pair were met with rapturous applause from the mostly-home crowd as they posed for pictures
Dutch professional volleyball player Steven Van de Velde taking part in European Beach Volleyball Championships with Immers
Van de Velde’s inclusion in the Dutch Olympic squad sparked an almighty row
It was not quite the result they might have hoped for though, as he and his teammate ultimately came third in the tournament, which ended on Sunday.
Van de Velde’s time in the Hague was worlds away from the hostility and isolation he encountered in Paris, where he did not stay with fellow athletes in the Olympic village and he was ferried to and from his matches by van and surrounded by security guards to stop him from speaking to reporters.
His inclusion in the Dutch Olympic squad sparked an almighty row, with victims, campaigners and fans calling for van de Velde to be banned from competing in the Games.
But organisers said they were powerless to stop the Netherlands from sending the athlete who qualified in the usual way.
He and Immers were knocked out in their fourth match in the French capital on August 4 by Brazil’s Evandro Oliviera and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci.
Van de Velde image is on flags with the rest of the Dutch team at the event
Van de Velde working out prior to his match against Poland
Van de Velde and his teammate Immers during the match against Poland
Immers defended his teammate at the time, saying: ‘He’s had his punishment. And now he’s really kind.’
In his self-pitying interview with Dutch public broadcaster NOS, van de Velde admitted he was surprised by the ‘scale’ of the controversy over his inclusion in the Dutch Olympic squad.
He said the hoots and whistles throughout his matches, especially when he was serving, made him consider quitting the Olympics but he didn’t want critics to bully him out.
Taking aim at the media coverage of the storm, he branded it a ‘shame’ adding: ‘It’s been ten years, I’ve played more than a hundred tournaments.
‘I understand that it’s an issue: should someone with such a past be allowed to stand on such a podium. That’s a legitimate question.’
He also claimed the media coverage was ‘hurting’ his wife, child and teammate.
In a self-pitying interview Van de Velde admitted he was surprised by the ‘scale’ of the controversy over his inclusion in the Dutch Olympic squad
Olympics organisers said they were powerless to stop the Netherlands from sending the athlete who qualified in the usual way
Van de Velde claimed the media coverage was ‘hurting’ his wife, child and teammate
After leaving prison, the rapist successfully rebuilt his life, marrying Kim Behrens in 2022 and welcoming a son together, who is now two years old.
He had served just 12 months of a four-year sentence after he was convicted of three counts of raping a 12-year-old British girl in Milton Keynes in 2014 when he was 19.
His defence counsel, Linda Strudwick, said at the time: ‘He’s lost a stellar sporting career and he’s being branded a rapist. It’s plainly a career end for him.’
But he was transferred from the UK back to the Netherlands to serve the remainder of his sentence under a treaty between the two countries.
The treaty allowed for his charges and sentence to be adjusted in line with Dutch law, meaning the charge of rape was changed to ‘fornication’.
Due to the punishment being less harsh for this offence in the Netherlands, it meant van de Velde was eligible for release in 2017, having only served one year of his original sentence.
