Dutch child rapist Steven van de Velde is BOOED as he kicks off first Olympics beach volleyball match - after furious backlash over sex offender's inclusion

Dutch child rapist Steven van de Velde has been booed by the crowd as he kicks off his first Olympics beach volleyball match.

Jeers rang out at the packed stadium as the 29-year-old convicted attacker took to sand court at the Champs de Mars park under the Eiffel Tower.

The 6ft 6ins Dutchman is in action against Italy's Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula with doubles partner Matthew Simmers, 23.

Van de Velde was again booed as he was introduced to the crowd for his Olympic debut.

Wearing the number 'one' in Netherlands blue and orange colours, he took off his dark, white rimmed sun-glasses, only to wipe sweat off his forehead.

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.

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 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.

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.'

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.'

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.