How can a man who raped a child be declared Olympic-eligible? The sooner Steven van de Velde is eliminated and sent home from Paris, the better, writes NIK SIMON

• Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde is a convicted child molester
• He was greeted with boos at his Olympic debut in Paris on Sunday.
• Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016

An artist set up his canvas and began working on an oil painting as the doors of this arena opened. It is the most picturesque venue of these games, an artificial beach in the heart of Paris, beautifully framed by the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

It was bright as the sun finally broke through on Sunday morning. There was party music, breakfast croissants and a crowd that had come to try Olympic volleyball for the first time. It had all the makings of a joyous occasion, but here loomed the dark shadow of the 6’6″ Dutch child molester.

Steven van de Velde was booed as he entered the court. He won the coin toss, threw a handful of sand in the air and went head to head with teammate Matthew Immers. For the record, they lost, being beaten by the Italian pair in 25th place, which felt like a tiny grain of sporting justice.

There were no dignitaries here. Frankly, they wouldn’t want to be seen anywhere near the Dutchman. The sooner he is kicked out of these games and sent home, the better. There is already a petition for his sacking.

He was found guilty of three counts of rape of a 12-year-old girl in Buckinghamshire in 2014. He is still competing because he was released early from prison and the Dutch selection committee decided that he had paid off his guilt.

Sport has the power to make people forget and the boos died down as the match wore on, the crowd drawn into the battle for set points. Yet this is a man whose crimes are the most sickening in a competition that also includes alleged dopers and animal abusers. If Charlotte Dujardin was sent home for being a danger to horses, how on earth can a man who flew from Amsterdam to the UK to rape a child be considered an honourable human being?

There are 10,714 participants in these games and Van de Velde is the only one with special permission not to speak to the media. John van Vliet, the team’s press attaché, was told in no uncertain terms that protecting a child molester would not be a good image. His response? “We are protecting a convicted child molester so that he can play his sport to the best of his ability, in a tournament he has qualified for. We are very conscious that bringing Steven here is not about his sport and his performance.”

And what message does he send to victims of rape and sexual abuse who are concerned about his selection? “I have no message.”

The Dutch showed a shocking lack of remorse. On a damp patch around the corner from the courthouse, their own journalists took the foreign media to task for making too big a “matter” out of the situation.

The press conference was a total accident. When Immers arrived, three French bodyguards showed up, fearing for his safety. Immers has committed no crime, but his name is tainted by being associated with him, as he had agreed to team up to achieve top performances. He stated that the two “do not sleep together” and that Van de Velde stays away from the Olympic Village.

“I’m disappointed by all the attention,” said the 23-year-old. “I’ve known the guy for three or four years and we’ve played every tournament.”

“We are disappointed that it is so big because we fought really hard for two years to qualify for it. We didn’t like it, but we talked about it and said, ‘OK, we are going to enjoy the Olympics, we are going to do everything together as much as possible, with a few rules.'”

All athletes have to sign a declaration about their status as role models before these games. Immers seems to believe his partner fulfils that role. “What’s in the past is in the past. Steven is a really good example of what he is like now. He was punished and is now really nice. For me that’s a great example of growing from it and learning a lot from it. What happened in the past is obviously not good, but right now we’re trying to enjoy it and get to the next round.”

So they head off to enjoy the party. Just think of the victim, now in his twenties, who probably tried to overdose. The dark underbelly of these games is clear for all to see, and lies just beneath the magnificent splendor of France’s most famous landmark.