The volleyball partner of Dutch child rapist Steven van de Velde has defended his teammate by insisting ‘he had his punishment’ after he was jeered by crowds on his Olympic debut.
The 29-year-old has been the subject of wide-ranging fury in recent weeks after it was revealed he would be allowed to compete at the games despite previously being jailed for raping a 12-year-old girl.
The 6ft 6ins Dutch athlete was booed by some members of the audience at the Champs de Mars park under the Eiffel Tower this morning as the Netherlands fell to a 2-1 defeat against Italy.
The sex offender’s teammate Matthew Immers told the press after the match that he was ‘surprised’ by the reaction to van de Velde, before saying he was a ‘really good example’ from how he behaves now.
This was followed by the Dutch Olympic Committee (DOC) admitting it was ‘protecting a convicted child rapist’ by installing special measures such as keeping him away from the athletes’ village and barring him from speaking to the press.
Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to raping a 12-year year-old British girl in August 2014 when he was 19.
Immers told the press he was taken by surprise at the reaction to van de Velde’s past convictions
Steven van de Velde claps sand off his hands during his team’s beach volleyball match against Italy in the Olympics
Matthew Immers lies on the floor as Steven van de Velde stands above him in their defeat this morning
Steven van de Velde puts his hands on his knees during a point in today’s match against Italy
The Dutchman had 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.
But he was selected for the Netherlands Olympic beach volley squad in June this year and was jeered as he walked out on the sand in Paris for his debut match this morning.
The athlete, who was wearing the number ‘one’ in Netherlands blue and orange colours, appeared to have no reaction to the negative reaction, taking off his dark, white rimmed sun-glasses, only to wipe sweat off his forehead.
After the match Immers was grilled by the press with van de Velde nowhere to be seen – the convicted sex offender has been barred from speaking to the media.
Asked if van de Velde had ever expressed any remorse to him for rape, Immers replied: ‘No, he doesn’t, he doesn’t explain it.’
He continued: ‘I know the guy for three, four years and we played every tournament and right now they make a really big discussion of it [the child rape conviction].’
Asked whether a convict child rapist provided a good role model for young people aspiring to become athletes, he replied: ‘I don’t know.
‘I think Steven is a really good example from how he is right now.
‘[Van de Velde conviction] it’s in the past. He had his punishment.’
Immers admitted the reaction to van de Velde’s past had come as a surprise and he ‘didn’t see it coming’.
He told Dutch broadcaster NOS: ‘We don’t like it, of course. That this is happening. Suddenly, after three years, this comes to the surface at such a big tournament
‘Because I’ve known him for three years and played with him. It came out of nowhere for me, actually. At least that it was so big.’
The 23-year-old said press would have to ask van de Velde himself if he was bothered by the booing – although this is unlikely to happen as he has been told not to speak to the press during the Olympics.
He added: ‘People are allowed to have an opinion, but we just want to play the tournament as well as possible.’
This was followed by DOC press attaché John Van Vliert saying the Dutch team managers had implement special procedures to deal with van de Velde.
The Dutch athlete was jeered by some in the audience as he entered the field of play for the Netherlands’ match against Italy
Members of the crowd booed the 29-year-old as he walked onto the sand as the row over his inclusion continues
Van de Velde, pictured here in action against Italy today, was previously jailed for raping at 12-year-old girl
The 29-year-old had previously been told his volleyball career was over after being sent to prison, but has since returned to the international circuit
The athlete waves to the crowd as he is introduced to them ahead of his first Olympic match
He said: ‘Two of the measures we took was we have Steven sleeping outside the [Athletes] village, the second one was we don’t gonna do [media] questions in the mix zones.
‘We are protecting a convicted child rapist [so that he can] do his sport as best as possible for the tournament which he qualified for.’
Asked if van de Velde is a good role model, Mr Van Vliert replied: ‘In his case, we’ve got someone who has been convicted, who did his sentence, who did everything afterwards, which he can do to be able to compete again.’
He added that van de Velde spent the day in the Athletes Village but slept at another location.
The 29-year-old convicted rapist refused to give interviews after the match and was whisked with by three body guards.
A Paris2024 official said: ‘Van de Velde was taken away with three body guards. Normally everyone comes through the mixed zone.
‘But he didn’t come through to avoid any media violence.
‘We aren’t happy with that, but the decision was made at the top of the IOC [International Olympic Committee].’
The Dutch pair’s first match at the games did not get off to the best start, as they lost the first set to the Italians.
Van de Velde and his teammate Immers were cheered on by the Dutch fans in the crowd, with chants of ‘Nederlands’ echoing into the air.
Fans clapped as the Netherlands edged the second set to take the match into a deciding set.
But the Italians roared back to take the final set, beating the Dutch 2-1 in their opening match of the tournament.
He is set to play at least two more games in the tournament as the Netherlands face Chile and Norway in Pool B.
The result went down well on social media, with some gloating about van de Velde’s defeat.
An Italian supporter wrote: ‘What a proud moment for Italy! Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula defeated child rapist Steve Van de Velde and his equally disgusting supportive buddy Matthew Immers. Grazie ragazzi!’
One Dutch fan wrote: ‘Friendly reminder that Steven van de Velde should not ever, in any universe, be at the Olympics representing our country after what he did.’
Meanwhile BBC Sport journalist Laura Scott, who was at the stadium, tweeted: ‘When van de Velde was individually introduced to the crowd here there was clear booing. Many people I spoke to outside said they were sad to see him here, saying it goes against Olympic values. But some Dutch fans said they would be supporting him as they feel he’s done his time.’
Steven van de Velde received a mixed response from the crowd he entered the court at the Eiffel Tower Stadium this morning
Matthew Immers and Steven van de Velde look downcast after losing their first match against Italy
The reaction from those in the stadium was mixed, with one woman saying: ‘What is the message we are telling to the rest of the world? What is the message we are telling to women, especially little girls? I think it is a hard thing.’
Another added: ‘I think they (people who think Van de Velde should not be allowed to play) they should consider it as two separate things as well. I think he gets enough punishment already.’
The controversy around van de Velde’s selection has rumbled on for weeks and showed no signs of abating as the Olympic’s gets underway.
Last night it was reported that an email sent by a a senior Dutch Olympic official insisted: ‘Steven is NOT a peadophile [sic]; you really don’t think that de Dutch NOC would send to Paris who IS a real risk? No, he isn’t a risk.’
However, a petition calling on Olympic chiefs to kick van de Velde out the Games has gained more than 94,400 signatures, and the British Olympic Association has expressed its anger about his competing.
Set up by Lauren Muir, it states: ‘The tarnished record of van de Velde should not be swept under the rug, nor should it stand as a symbol of achievement at an event as prestigious as the Olympics.
‘This is about more than just one person; it’s about the worldwide image of the Olympics and the kind of society we want to live in.’
In a statement, the Netherlands Olympic Committee last week it 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.
Van de Velde (centre) arrived in the French capital amid tight security last week on a Eurostar train from Rotterdam
The Dutch volleyball player, 29, served 12 months in England for the crime and was transferred to the Netherlands to serve another month before being released
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 furore surrounding this was made clear on his arrival in Paris last week, when he disembarked a Eurostar train from Rotterdam in the French capital amid heavy security.
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 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.
Linda Strudwick, defending, insisted it had been a ‘spur of the momedernt decision’ to fly to England and said van de Velde was not a ‘predatory young man.’
Aylesbury Crown Court heard that his victim had later self-harmed after the trauma of her encounter with him.
Judge Francis Sheridan even told van de Velde at the time: ‘Your hopes of representing your country now lie as a shattered dream.’
Steven van de Velde (right) is at the centre of a storm after being selected for the Olympics despite having a conviction for raping a child. He is now married to Kim Behrens (left)
Behrens (left), a police officer as well as an athlete, dotes on her 6′ 6′ tall husband and regularly posts loved-up content on social media about their lives together
Behrens, herself a glamourous athlete, regularly posts pictures to social media of her family, which includes her young son
Van de Velde and Behrens tied the knot in January 2022. He was released from jail in 2017, five years before his son was born
And his own defence counsel, Linda Strudwick, also said: ‘He’s lost a stellar sporting career and he’s being branded a rapist. It’s plainly a career end for him.’
However van de Velde, sentenced to four years in prison, was transferred from the UK back to the Netherlands to serve the remainder under a treaty between the two countries.
The treaty allowed for his charges and sentence to be adjusted in line with Dutch law, meaning the charge of rape was changed to ‘fornication’.
Due to the punishment being less harsh for this offence in the Netherlands, it mean van de Velde was eligible for release in 2017, having only served one year of his original 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.’
Since his release from prison van de Velde has successfully rebuilt his life since leaving prison to the extent that he is now married to a high profile fellow volleyball pro from Germany.
Kim Behrens and van de Velde married in 2022 and have a young son together.
Behrens, a police officer as well as an athlete, dotes on her 6′ 6′ tall husband and regularly posts loved-up content on social media about their lives together.
