Olympics youngster rapist Steven van de Velde poses for selfies with younger ladies as shamed sportsman is given hero’s welcome on return to Holland

Posing for selfies with younger ladies, that is youngster rapist volleyball participant Steven van de Velde at a event – simply days moaning in regards to the backlash he obtained on the Olympics, MailOnline can reveal.

Shortly after his tearful TV interview made international headlines, we discovered the 30-year-old Dutchman on the European Seashore Volleyball championships within the Netherlands the place he was given a rock star reception with mother and father encouraging their kids to have pictures with the shamed sportsman.

Van de Velde, who served 12 months of a four-year jail sentence after admitting three counts of raping a 12-year-old British woman in Milton Keynes in 2014, fortunately signed autographs and gave a thumbs up as he and teammate Matthew Immers, 23, posed for images with little ladies who appeared as younger as 5 in addition to uniformed members of the Netherlands Purple Cross after their win within the Hague.

Youngsters and their mother and father waited patiently for the pair after their victory; eagerly stepping ahead to have their images taken with van de Velde and Immers.

The disgraced participant spent nearly an hour stress-free and laughing with followers and pals following his and Immers’ 2-0 set win over Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Jakub Zdybek on the seaside stadium’s Centre Court docket on Thursday afternoon.

In stark distinction to the boos and jeers of Paris, the pair have been met with rapturous applause from the mostly-home crowd, with spectators even comically bowing down amid thumping dance music following van de Velde’s ‘monster block’ of his opponent’s shot.

One fan even wielded a inexperienced banner bearing van de Velde’s identify and outdoors the courtroom, big flags bore his and Immers’ faces alongside fellow Dutch athletes.

Van de Velde, who sported tattoos together with an eight-ball skewered by a bone with the phrase ‘fortunate’, appeared relaxed in the course of the match as he wore his wedding ceremony ring and sipped from a water bottle which bore the handwritten message, ‘create the proper alternative’.

It was not fairly the outcome they may have hoped for although, as he and his teammate in the end got here third within the event, which ended on Sunday.

Van de Velde’s time within the Hague was worlds away from the hostility and isolation he encountered in Paris, the place he didn’t stick with fellow athletes within the Olympic village and he was ferried to and from his matches by van and surrounded by safety guards to cease him from talking to reporters.

His inclusion within the Dutch Olympic squad sparked an almighty row, with victims, campaigners and followers calling for van de Velde to be banned from competing within the Video games.

However organisers stated they have been powerless to cease the Netherlands from sending the athlete who certified within the typical method.

He and Immers have been knocked out of their fourth match within the French capital on August 4 by Brazil’s Evandro Oliviera and Arthur Diego Mariano Lanci.

Immers defended his teammate on the time, saying: ‘He is had his punishment. And now he is actually form.’

In his self-pitying interview with Dutch public broadcaster NOS, van de Velde admitted he was stunned by the ‘scale’ of the controversy over his inclusion within the Dutch Olympic squad.

He stated the hoots and whistles all through his matches, particularly when he was serving, made him take into account quitting the Olympics however he did not need critics to bully him out.

Taking intention on the media protection of the storm, he branded it a ‘disgrace’ including: ‘It has been ten years, I’ve performed greater than 100 tournaments.

‘I perceive that it is a problem: ought to somebody with such a previous be allowed to face on such a podium. That is a official query.’

He additionally claimed the media protection was ‘hurting’ his spouse, youngster and teammate.

After leaving jail, the rapist efficiently rebuilt his life, marrying Kim Behrens in 2022 and welcoming a son collectively, who’s now two years outdated.

He had served simply 12 months of a four-year sentence after he was convicted of three counts of raping a 12-year-old British woman in Milton Keynes in 2014 when he was 19.

His defence counsel, Linda Strudwick, stated on the time: ‘He is misplaced a stellar sporting profession and he is being branded a rapist. It is plainly a profession finish for him.’

However he was transferred from the UK again to the Netherlands to serve the rest of his sentence beneath a treaty between the 2 nations.

The treaty allowed for his prices and sentence to be adjusted in keeping with Dutch legislation, that means the cost of rape was modified to ‘fornication’.

Because of the punishment being much less harsh for this offence within the Netherlands, it meant van de Velde was eligible for launch in 2017, having solely served one yr of his unique sentence.