Child rapist Steven van De Velde, who was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old British girl, took to the volleyball court with the Dutch team in Paris today as anger grows over their competition at the Olympics.
The convicted sex offender, 29, took part in a practice session in the Champ de Mars park, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
The 1.98m tall Dutchman completed a 60-minute workout with his doubles partner Matthew Immers, 23, without taking off his sunglasses even once. The bare-chested athlete sported several tattoos on his torso and arms.
The session took place in 25-degree heat at midday and just a few metres from where the French women’s volleyball team was training.
The embarrassed athlete left the track via a private entrance for competitors, laughing with his teammates. However, Van De Velde has been ordered not to comment on the growing scandal surrounding his appearance at Paris 2024.
Convicted sex offender Steven van de Velde, 29, took part in a practice session in the Champs de Mars park in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Dutchman van de Velde (right), 1.98m tall, completed a 60-minute workout with his doubles partner Matthew Immers (left), 23, without once taking off his sunglasses.
Van de Velde (centre) arrived in the French capital yesterday amid tight security on a Eurostar train from Rotterdam.
He arrived in the French capital yesterday amid tight security measures on a Eurostar train from Rotterdam.
He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping a 12-year-old British schoolgirl when he was 19 in August 2014.
The Dutchman travelled from Amsterdam to the UK and raped the girl in a house in Milton Keynes.
Despite being told by a judge that her conviction would be “career-ending,” van De Velde resumed her volleyball career after serving just 12 months of her four-year sentence.
He was selected for the Netherlands Olympic beach volleyball team in June this year.
In a statement last night, the Dutch Olympic Committee said it was “implementing concrete measures to ensure a safe sporting environment” for all participants.
“These measures include, at van De Velde’s request, alternative accommodation for van De Velde and no contact with the media during his stay in Paris,” a spokesman said.
It said the measures were in line with “standard practice” and had been developed following a “thorough risk assessment taking into account all affected groups”.
The spokesman said the assessment had reinforced the committee’s “confidence in the safety of all parties involved.”
Van de Velde had returned to international elite sport after a previous conviction for a sexual offence in 2014 in the UK.
“His return was made possible after a specialized treatment program,” the spokesman said.
The bare-chested athlete sported several tattoos on his torso and arms.
The training session took place in 25-degree heat at midday and just a few metres from where the French women’s volleyball team was training.
Van de Velde taking a break to drink some electrolytes in the 25-degree midday heat at the volleyball training session.
‘Van de Velde has fully complied with all requirements and has met all strict risk assessment, controls and due diligence thresholds. Experts have stated that there is no risk of re-offending.
‘Van de Velde has always remained transparent about the case, which he refers to as the biggest misstep of his life.
‘He deeply regrets the consequences his actions have had for those involved. He has spoken openly about the personal transformation he has experienced as a result. Since his return he has participated in major international events without incident.
‘However, her intention to participate in the Olympics has generated significant interest on international social media.’
The committee said it had implemented the measures “following close consultation with the athlete and his teammates.”
“NOC*NSF regrets the impact of the unexpected renewed attention, on social media in particular, towards those struggling with the trauma of sexual crimes and transgressive behavior,” it added.
During his trial just under a decade ago, Aylesbury Crown Court heard how van de Velde had travelled to the UK and met his victim and had sex with her.
Sandra Beck, prosecuting, told the court at the time: ‘She describes how she had met Steven van de Velde on Facebook, they spoke regularly through there and he made her ‘feel special’.
“She made it clear that she was seven years younger than him. This relationship via social media developed over a period of time.”
The volleyball player’s victim had added him as a friend on Facebook after he commented favorably on one of her photos, the court heard.
The Olympian was seen stretching on the sand before his training session with the Dutch volleyball team.
Van de Velde leaving the beach volleyball court in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Van de Velde celebrates during a match at the 2023 Beach World Championships
They began talking daily via Facebook, Snapchat and Skype before he arranged to visit her and arrived in Milton Keynes in August 2014.
The schoolgirl told her family she was staying with a friend and snuck out to try to book a hotel with the older teen, who was 19 at the time.
When they couldn’t find a room, they went to Furzton Lake in the city, where they drank Baileys and she performed a sexual act on him.
The next day, after the couple slept in cardboard boxes under a Premier Inn staircase, unable to rebook a room, she took him home to her empty house and he took her virginity.
Before returning to the Netherlands, Van de Velde advised her to take the morning-after pill, as they had not used any contraceptive method. It was her visit to a family planning clinic that alerted the authorities, who intervened due to the girl’s young age.
The athlete, 46, from Westeinde, Voorburg, Netherlands, was extradited to the UK on January 8, when he was arrested on suspicion of sexual acts. He later admitted three counts of rape of a minor.
Van de Velde was released from prison in 2017 after serving just one year of his four-year sentence.
After his release, he said: ‘I want to correct all the nonsense that was written about me when I was locked up.
‘I didn’t read anything, on purpose, but I understand that it was quite bad, that I’ve been branded a sexual monster, a pedophile. I’m not, not really.
“Everyone can have their own opinion about me, but it is only fair that they also know my version of the facts.”
