Child rapist Steven van De Velde, who was convicted for having sex with a British girl aged 12, took to the volleyball court with the Dutch team in Paris today as anger grows over him competing at the Olympic Games.
The 29-year-old convicted sex attacker took part in a practice session at the Champs de Mars park in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
The 6ft 6ins Dutchman conducted a 60-minute work-out with doubles partner Matthew Immers, 23, without once removing his sunglasses. The bare-chested athlete brandished several tattoos on his torso and arms.
The session took place in 25C noon heat and yards from where the French female volleyball team were working out.
The shamed athlete left the court via a private entrance for competitors laughing with teammates. But van De Velde has been ordered not to comment on the growing scandal around his appearance at Paris 2024.
The 29-year-old convicted sex attacker Steven van de Velde took part in a practice session at the Champs de Mars park in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower
The 6'6' Dutchman van de Velde (right) conducted a 60-minute work-out with doubles partner Matthew Immers (left), 23, without once removing his sunglasses
Van de Velde (centre) arrived in the French capital amid tight security yesterday on a Eurostar train from Rotterdam
He arrived in the French capital amid tight security yesterday 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, back in August 2014.
The Dutchman travelled from Amsterdam to the UK and raped the girl at a house in Milton Keynes.
Despite being told by a judge that his conviction was 'career ending', van De Velde resumed his volleyball career after serving just 12 months of his four year sentence.
He was selected for the Netherlands Olympic beach volley squad in June this year.
In a statement, the Netherlands Olympic Committee last night said it was 'implementing concrete measures to ensure a safe sporting environment' for all participants.'
'These measures include, at the request of van De Velde, alternative accommodation for van De Velde and no media contact during his stay in Paris,' a spokesman said.
He claimed that 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 the international elite sport level following a previous conviction for a sexual offence in 2014 in the UK'.
'His return was possible following a specialist treatment programme,' the spokesman said.
The bare-chested athlete brandished several tattoos on his torso and arms
The training session took place in 25-degree noon heat and yards from where the French female volleyball team were working out
Van de Velde as he is taking a break to drink some electrolytes in the 25-degree noon heat at the volleyball training session
'Van de Velde has fully engaged with all requirements and has met all the stringent risk assessment thresholds, checks and due diligence. Experts have stated that there is no risk of recidivism.
'Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life.
'He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved. He has been open about the personal transformation he has undergone as a result. Since his return he has participated in major international events without incident.
'However his intended participation in the Olympic Games has generated significant interest on international social media.'
The committee said it had implemented measures 'following close consultation with the athlete and his team mates'.
'NOC*NSF regrets the impact of the unforeseen renewed attention, on social media in particular, for those struggling with trauma from sexual offences and transgressive behaviour,' he added.
During his trial just less than a decade ago, Aylesbury Crown Court heard how van de Velde had travelled to the UK and met up with his victim and had sex with her.
Sandra Beck, prosecuting, told the court at the time: 'She describes that she had met Steven van de Velde on Facebook, they spoke regularly through that and he made her 'feel special'.
'She certainly made it clear she was seven years younger than him. This relationship over social media was taking place over a period of time.'
The volleyball player's victim had added him as a friend on Facebook after he commented favourably on one of her photos, the court heard.
The Olympian was seen stretching in the sand ahead of his training session with the Dutch volleyball team
Van de Velde as he left the beach volleyball court in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Van de Velde celebrates during a game at the Beach World Champs in 2023
They began to speak on a daily basis over Facebook, Snapchat and Skype before he arranged to visit her, arriving in Milton Keynes in August 2014.
The schoolgirl told her family she was staying with a friend and snuck out to try and book a hotel with the older teenager, aged 19 at the time.
When they couldn't find a room, they went to Furzton Lake in the town, where they drank Baileys and she performed a sex act on him.
The following day, after the pair slept in cardboard boxes under a stairway at Premier Inn, having again been unable to book a room, she took him to her empty house and he took her virginity.
Before he returned to the Netherlands van de Velde advised her to get the morning after pill as they had not used contraception. It was her visit to a family planning clinic that alerted the authorities, who stepped in because of the girl's young age.
The sportsman, of Westeinde 46, Voorburg, the Netherlands, was extradited to the UK on January 8, when he was arrested on suspicion of the sex acts.He later admitted three counts of rape against a child.
Van de Velde was released from prison in 2017 after servicing just one year of his four-year sentence.
Following his release, he said: 'I do want to correct all the nonsense that has been written about me when I was locked up.
'I did not read any of it, on purpose, but I understand that it was quite bad, that I have been branded as a sex monster, as a paedophile. That I am not, really not.
'Everyone can have their opinion about me, but it is only fair if they also know my side of the story.'
