Posing for selfies with young girls, this is child-rapist volleyball player Steven van de Velde at a tournament, just days after complaining about the backlash he received at the Olympics, MailOnline can reveal.
Shortly after his tearful TV interview made headlines around the world, we found the 30-year-old Dutchman at the European Beach Volleyball Championships in the Netherlands, where he was greeted like a rock star and his parents encouraged their children to take pictures with the embarrassed athlete.
Van de Velde, who was serving 12 months of a four-year prison sentence after admitting three counts of raping a 12-year-old British girl in Milton Keynes in 2014, happily signed autographs and gave thumbs-up as he and teammate Matthew Immers, 23, posed for photos with girls who appeared to be as young as five, as well as uniformed members of the Dutch Red Cross after their victory in The Hague.
Volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a child rapist, poses for selfies with girls at a volleyball tournament. He is pictured with Olympic athlete Matthew Immers
Van de Velde pictured training ahead of his match against Poland
The 30-year-old Dutchman was at the European Beach Volleyball Championships in the Netherlands, where he was greeted like a rock star and parents encouraged their children to take pictures with the embarrassed athlete.
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 take photos with van de Velde and Immers.
The disgraced player spent almost an hour relaxing and laughing with fans and friends following his 2-0 win alongside Immers over Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Jakub Zdybek on Centre Court at the beach stadium on Thursday afternoon.
In stark contrast to the boos and jeers in Paris, both were greeted with warm applause from the largely home crowd, with spectators even comically bowing amid thunderous dance music after van de Velde’s “monstrous block” of his opponent’s shot.
One fan even carried a green banner with van de Velde’s name on it, and outside the pitch giant flags bore his and Immers’ faces alongside those of their fellow Dutch athletes.
Van de Velde, who sported tattoos including an eight ball with a bone through it and the word “luck,” appeared relaxed during the game as he sported his wedding ring and drank from a water bottle with the handwritten message “create the perfect opportunity.”
In stark contrast to the boos and jeers in Paris, the couple were greeted with enthusiastic applause from the mostly local crowd as they posed for photographs.
Dutch professional volleyball player Steven Van de Velde participates in the European Beach Volleyball Championship with Immers
Van de Velde’s inclusion in the Dutch Olympic team sparked a huge controversy
However, it was not the result they had hoped for as he and his teammate finished third in the tournament, which ended on Sunday.
Van de Velde’s time in The Hague was a far cry from the hostility and isolation he encountered in Paris, where he did not stay with his fellow athletes in the Olympic village and was transported to and from games by van and surrounded by security guards to prevent him from speaking to reporters.
Her inclusion in the Dutch Olympic team sparked a huge controversy, with victims, activists and fans calling for van de Velde to be banned from competing at the Games.
But organisers said they could not prevent the Netherlands from sending the athlete who qualified in the usual way.
He and Immers were eliminated in their fourth match in the French capital on August 4 by Brazilians Evandro Oliviera and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci.
Van de Velde’s image appears on the flags alongside the rest of the Dutch team at the event.
Van de Velde training before 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 nice.”
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 team.
He said the shouting and whistling during his matches, especially when he was serving, made him consider quitting the Olympics, but he did not want to be intimidated by critics.
Referring to media coverage of the storm, she called it a “disgrace” and added: “Ten years have passed, I’ve played more than a hundred tournaments.
“I understand that it is an issue: should someone with such a past be allowed to stand on such a podium? It is a legitimate question.”
He also claimed the media coverage was “harming” his wife, son 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 team.
Olympic organizers said they could not prevent the Netherlands from sending the athlete who qualified in the usual way.
Van de Velde said the media coverage was “harming” his wife, son and teammate.
After his release from prison, the rapist successfully rebuilt his life, marrying Kim Behrens in 2022 and having a son together, who is now two years old.
He had served just 12 months of a four-year sentence after being convicted of three counts of raping a 12-year-old British girl in Milton Keynes in 2014, when he was 19.
His defence lawyer, Linda Strudwick, said at the time: “He has lost a stellar sporting career and is being branded a rapist. It is clearly the end of his career.”
But he was transferred from the UK to the Netherlands to serve the remainder of his sentence under a treaty between the two countries.
The treaty allowed her charges and sentence to be brought into line with Dutch law, meaning the charge of rape was changed to “fornication.”
Because the punishment for this crime is less severe in the Netherlands, van de Velde was eligible for release in 2017, having served just one year of his original sentence.