Olympics child rapist Steven van de Velde poses for selfies with young girls as shamed sportsman is given hero’s welcome on return to Holland

Child molester and volleyball player Steven van de Velde poses for selfies with young girls during a tournament. He has only been complaining about the negative reactions he received during the Olympics for a few days, MailOnline can reveal.

Shortly after his emotional TV interview made headlines worldwide, we saw the 30-year-old Dutchman at the European Beach Volleyball Championships in the Netherlands. There he was welcomed like a real rock star and parents encouraged their children to have their picture taken with the embarrassed athlete.

Van de Velde, who served 12 months of a four-year prison sentence after raping a 12-year-old British girl three times in Milton Keynes in 2014, happily signed autographs and gave a thumbs-up as he and team-mate Matthew Immers, 23, posed for photos with little girls as young as five and with members of the Dutch Red Cross in uniform after their victory in The Hague.

Van de Velde pictured during a training session prior to his match against Poland

The 30-year-old Dutchman was attending the European Beach Volleyball Championships in the Netherlands, where he received a rock star welcome, with parents encouraging their children to take photos with the embarrassed athlete.

The disgraced player spent nearly an hour relaxing and laughing with fans

Children and their parents waited patiently for the duo after their victory; they stepped forward with enthusiasm to have their picture taken with van de Velde and Immers.

The disgraced player was able to relax and laugh with fans and friends for almost an hour after his 2-0 victory with Immers over Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Jakub Zdybek on the Centre Court of the Strandstadium on Thursday afternoon.

In stark contrast to the boos and jeers in Paris, the duo were greeted with a roar of applause from the predominantly home crowd, with spectators even leaning forward in a comical manner as the music blared to a thumping dance tune after Van de Velde had ‘blocked’ his opponent’s shot.

One fan even carried a green banner with Van de Velde’s name and large flags hung outside the field with his faces and Immers’s faces on them, alongside those of other Dutch athletes.

Van de Velde, who had a tattoo of an eight-ball with a bone in it and the word ‘lucky’ on it, appeared relaxed during the match. He wore his wedding ring and drank from a water bottle with the handwritten text: ‘create the perfect opportunity’.

In stark contrast to the cheers and jeers in Paris, the couple were greeted with wild applause from the largely home crowd as they posed for photos

Dutch professional volleyball player Steven Van de Velde takes part in the European Beach Volleyball Championship with Immers

Van de Velde’s inclusion in the Dutch Olympic selection caused a huge stir

However, it wasn’t quite the result they had hoped for, as he and his teammate eventually finished third in the tournament, which ended on Sunday.

Van de Velde’s time in The Hague was a world apart from the hostility and isolation he encountered in Paris. There, he was not staying with his fellow athletes in the Olympic village and was taken to and from his competitions in a van. He was also surrounded by security guards, preventing him from speaking to reporters.

His participation in the Dutch Olympic selection led to a huge commotion. Victims, activists and fans demanded that Van de Velde be banned from participating in the Games.

However, the organizers said they could not prevent the Netherlands from sending the athlete who had qualified in the usual way.

He and Immers were knocked out in their fourth match in the French capital on August 4 by Brazilian Evandro Oliviera and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci.

Van de Velde stands on flags with the rest of the Dutch team during the event

Van de Velde trains ahead of his match against Poland

Van de Velde and his teammate Immers during the match against Poland

Immers defended his teammate at the time by saying: ‘He has had his punishment. And now he is really nice.’

In his self-pitying interview with NOS, Van de Velde admitted that he was surprised by the ‘magnitude’ of the controversy surrounding his participation in the Dutch Olympic selection.

He said the booing and whistling during his matches, especially when he was serving, made him consider quitting the Olympics, but he didn’t want critics to intimidate him.

He called the media coverage of the storm “disgraceful” and added: “It’s been 10 years and I’ve played in over 100 tournaments.

‘I understand that it is an issue: should someone with such a past be allowed to stand on such a stage? That is a legitimate question.’

He also claimed the media coverage “hurt” his wife, child and teammate.

In a self-pitying interview, Van de Velde admitted that he was surprised by the ‘magnitude’ of the controversy surrounding his participation in the Dutch Olympic selection

Olympic organizers said they were powerless to prevent the Netherlands from sending the athlete who had qualified in the usual way

Van de Velde claimed the media coverage ‘hurt’ his wife, child and teammate

After leaving prison, the rapist successfully rebuilt his life. In 2022, he married Kim Behrens and they had a son together, who is now two years old.

He had served just 12 months of a four-year sentence after being convicted in Milton Keynes in 2014 of three counts of rape of a 12-year-old British girl. He was 19 at the time.

His defence lawyer, Linda Strudwick, said at the time: ‘He’s lost a great sporting career and he’s been branded a rapist. It’s clearly the end of his career.’

But he was transferred from the United Kingdom back to the Netherlands to serve the remainder of his sentence there, under a treaty between the two countries.

The treaty made it possible to adapt the charge and the punishment to Dutch law. That means that the charge of rape was changed to ‘fornication’.

Because the penalties for this offence are less severe in the Netherlands, Van de Velde was eligible for release in 2017, after serving only one year of his original sentence.