Convicted child rapist Steven Van de Velde has sobbed in his first interview since the Paris 2024 Olympics where he was booed and jeered for his sick crimes when competing for the Netherlands at beach volleyball.

The paedophile, who served just one year of a five-year sentence for raping a 12-year-old girl, has spoken for the first time since his controversial participation at this summer’s Games – where Dutch officials protected him from Press conferences.

He has now told a newspaper in the Netherlands: ‘Get at me, but please leave my family alone.’ 

Van de Velde, 30, was found guilty of three counts of raping a 12-year-old in Milton Keynes in 2014, yet competed this summer because he was granted early release from prison and judged by national selectors to have paid his dues. 

In his new interview, he said: ‘I did something wrong, ten years ago. I have to accept that.’

Referring to his family as well as Paris 2024 team-mate Matthew Immers, Van de Velde added: ‘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?’

More to follow…