Dutch child rapist Steven van de Velde will be held under lock and ...

A Dutch child rapist who is competing at the Olympics has been banished from the athletes' village as uproar over his inclusion continues.

Steven van de Velde has been given accommodation away from his fellow competitors and told not to speak to the media as the row over his selection for the Netherlands' Volleyball team roars on.

The athlete, now 29, was previously given a four-year jail sentence in the UK after raping a 12-year-old girl who he met on social media when he was 19, something he later described as being the 'biggest mistake of my life'.

Despite being imprisoned and his own defence lawyer claiming the conviction would spell an end to his volleyball career, van de Velde returned to the sport following his early release in Holland.

Since then he has carved out a career in international volleyball, but the decision by Dutch Olympic selectors to take him to the games in Paris has sparked outrage and potential protests against his inclusion.

Steven van de Velde took part in a practice session at the Champs de Mars park in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. He was jailed in Britain in 2014 for raping a 12-year-old girl

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

Van de Velde pictured in the men's final match at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in Brazil in May

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 today

The athlete has reportedly been given separate accommodations away from the athletes' village as a result of the furore surrounding him

Charities have harshly criticised the decision to allow him to compete, with The Survivors Trust calling it a 'further endorsement of the shocking toleration we have of child sexual abuse', while 81,000 people have signed a petition demanding known sex offenders are banned from the Olympics.

The furore surrounding this was made clear on his arrival to the city this week, when he disembarked a Eurostar train from Rotterdam in the French capital amid heavy security.

And this could be a feature of the 6ft 6ins Dutchman's experience at the games after he was told not to stay in the athletes' village with his compatriots and fellow competitors.

The Dutch Olympic Committee (DOC) has made the decision to find van de Velde, who previously insisted he was not a 'paedophile' after his conviction, alternative lodgings, The Athletic reports.

He has also been told not to talk to the media for fear that they would ask him about his past convictions - which include three counts of raping a child.

The DOC and the Dutch Volleyball Federation have refused to make van de Velde available for comment, only insisting that he has 'consistently met' their high standards.

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.

Van de Velde (centre) arrived in the French capital amid tight security yesterday on a Eurostar train from Rotterdam

The bare-chested athlete brandished several tattoos on his torso and arms during training on Thursday amid reports that he has been banned from speaking to the media

The Dutchman in a training session which took place in 25-degree noon heat and yards from where the French female volleyball team were working out on Thursday

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'.

The DOC had previously said: '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.'

Pieter van den Hoogenband, Netherlands chef de mission, also spoke about the situation while speaking on Dutch TV.

'He's not going to downplay it [his conviction],' Van den Hoogenband said.

'We have to respect that and help him as a member of the team to be able to perform.

'He has been active in international sport and the world of beach volleyball for a long time.

'He has participated in World Cups, European Championships [...], but you see that around the Games it is different. Things are amplified around the Games.

'We have taken good steps together. All the athletes are dear to me and I try to support them.'

This forgiving attitude towards van de Velde's convictions has been mirrored in the Dutch press, who have said him being banned from the athletes' village is 'sad' and downplayed the seriousness of his crimes.

The head of sport at Dutch newspaper Trouw, one of the biggest in the country, wrote a column under the headline: 'Don't turn an ex-sex offender into an Olympic pariah.'

John Graat wrote: 'Steven van de Velde will be sitting alone in a hotel somewhere in Paris from next week, like an outcast who has been rejected by the Olympic 'family'. I think it's sad.'

He added: 'As serious as what he did is, I have a hard time with it. I do understand that his participation is sensitive for victims of sexual crimes. But those victim organisations say they stand up for human rights: isn't it also a fundamental right to get a second chance after a sentence? Moreover, the risk of recidivism is practically zero.'

Another one of the largest newspapers in the country, tabloid De Telegraaf, ran a story with the headline: 'Foreign media increase pressure over Olympic participation of convicted Dutch beach volleyball player.'

It reports that the Dutch authorities think van de Velde should be allowed to compete because he has served his sentence, but adds that British and Australian media have 'dug up the story' and are 'stirring up this subject' in an attempt to get him banned.

The newspaper reports as fact in its opening paragraph that van de Velde and the 12-year-old girl 'had consensual sex' – which is not possible under British law.

Van de Velde as he is taking a break to drink some electrolytes in the 25-degree noon heat at the volleyball training session on Thursday

The Olympian seen stretching in the sand ahead of his training session with the Dutch volleyball team on Thursday

Van de Velde celebrates during a game at the Beach World Champs in 2023

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.'

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' - and this then meant he 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.'

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

Behrens is a police officer in her native Germany as well as a professional volleyball player

However, his selection for the Olympic volleyball team has cast fresh attention on his crimes and sparked anger from rape survivor charities. 

The Survivors Trust said: 'The rape of a child was planned, calculated involving international travel, and will undoubtedly cause his victim lifelong trauma, irreversibly changing the course of her life. 

'As a society, we have to start embracing a zero-tolerance approach to this heinous and costly crime.' 

Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, executive director of The Army of Survivors added: 'Despite Van de Velde's justifications, there is no excuse for raping a child. 

'Van de Velde's statement reveals a lack of remorse and understanding of the consequences of his actions. 

'Raping a minor is not a "misstep" - it is a criminal violation that should exclude people from participation in the Olympic Games.' 

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.

In December 2021 she wrote: 'It's probably time to officially announce it. Steven and I are having our baby in March.'

Then in January 2022, they saw in the New Year by getting married.

Behrens posted a series of wedding pics, writing: 'Mr & Mrs van de Velde. 01.01.2022 My year could not have started any better!'

After the baby was born she again was adoring of her husband writing: 'You & me! And now with him! I think I am a witness of pure happiness and love in life!'