Olympic child rapist Steven Van de Velde breaks silence

The disgraced athlete had been previously slammed after clinching his spot at the Paris Olympic Games.

A beach volleyball player jailed for raping a British girl has broken his silence and shamelessly wept after being booed at the Olympics.

Steven Van de Velde flew from his native Netherlands to the UK to meet his 12-year-old victim after grooming her on Facebook.

He was 19 when he met with the girl in 2014, The Sun reports.

Van de Velde later received a four-year prison sentence in 2016 after confessing to three counts of rape.

But the beach volleyball player returned to prominence after clinching his spot at the Paris Olympic Games.

The now 30-year-old qualified alongside his partner Matthew Immers, who are now the 11th-ranked team in the world, The Telegraph reports.

But Van de Velde did not get a warm welcome in the French capital as he was booed by the crowds and wept during a press conference.

The disgraced athlete revealed he considered skipping this year’s Olympics after shamelessly attacking the media for reporting on his case.

Netherlands' volleyball player Steven van de Velde. Picture: AFP

He said: “I definitely thought about it, yes.

“I did something wrong, ten years ago. I have to accept that.

“But hurting people around me - whether it’s Matthew, my wife, my child … that just goes too far for me. “That’s definitely a moment where I thought, is this worth it?”

Unlike all Olympic athletes, Van de Velde did not sleep in the Olympic village, but had a separate hotel room, Dutch outlet Omroep West reports.

The Dutch also defended the child rapist getting special treatment to avoid interviews.

Dutch aide John van Vliet said: “We are protecting a convicted child rapist to do his sport as best as possible.”

Teammate Matthew Immers, 23, also defended his pal, 29.

He said: “He’s had his punishment. And now he’s really kind.”

A Paris 2024 official revealed: “He was taken away with three bodyguards.

“We aren’t happy with that but the decision was made at the top of the IOC.”

Ciara Bergman, CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales, said: “It sends a damaging message that competing in sports matters more than raping a child.”

Following his conviction in 2016, Van de Velde was released in 2017 after serving just 12 months at a Dutch prison.

He had since been allowed to resume his Olympic career.

Van de Velde travelled to the UK to meet up with his victim and have sex with her, Aylesbury Crown Court heard during his trial almost a decade ago.

Prosecutor Sandra Beck 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 girl had added the Dutch player as a friend on Facebook after he allegedly commented on one of her photos, the court heard.

Steven van de Velde of Team Netherlands. Picture: AFP

The pair would then chat every day over Facebook, Snapchat and Skype before he visited her in Milton Keynes in 2014.

The girl told her family she was staying with a friend and snuck out to try to meet with the 19-year-old at a hotel.

When they couldn’t make a booking, they went to Furzton Lake in the town and drank Baileys and she performed a sex act on him.

The pair slept in cardboard boxes under a stairwell at Premier Inn because after they couldn’t get a room.

The following morning, she allegedly led him to her empty house, where they had sex.

Prior to his return to the Netherlands, Van de Velde told the girl to get the morning after pill as they had not used contraception.

Netherlands' volleyball player Steven van de Velde addresses media. Picture: AFP

The girl’s visit to a family planning clinic alerted authorities, who stepped in because of her young age.

Van de Velde, from Voorburg, was then extradited to the UK and arrested on suspicion of the sex acts.

Upon his release in 2017, the sick sportsman tried to defend himself and moaned people weren’t hearing “his side of the story”.

His comments were slammed by the National Society for Protection of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).

A spokesman said: “Van de Velde’s lack of remorse and self-pity is breathtaking, and we can only begin to imagine how distressed his victim must feel if she sees his comments. “Grooming can leave a child feeling ashamed or even guilty, because they believe they have somehow willingly participated when, in fact, an adult has preyed upon them in order to sexually exploit them.”

This article appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.