The prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, convicted rapist Christian Brueckner, has mocked investigators ahead of his sex crimes trial.
Brueckner, 47, has spoken out about his case for the first time, which sees him accused of three rapes and two indecent assaults on five women between 10 and 80 years old between 2000 and 2017.
But the sick offender has slammed the trial, which is due to begin today in the German city of Brunswick, as “ridiculous”.
Brueckner said “I hope [they] will find some answers to [their] questions soon” in a “mocking tone”, reported the Mail.
Investigators believe 47-year-old Christian Brueckner was the man responsible for Madeleine's disappearancePA / Carabinieri MilanoTwo of Brueckner’s indecent assault charges, against a 10-year-old girl in 2007 and another child in 2017, allegedly happened on a beach and a playground in the Algarve – the coastal region of Portugal from where Madeleine McCann was taken.
The 47-year-old was named by German authorities in 2020 as the prime suspect thought to be responsible for the kidnapping and murder of the then three-year-old Madeleine in the Algarve in 2007, but this trial is unrelated.
Authorities are hoping that a successful prosecution will force Brueckner’s hand – spending the rest of his life in prison could push the rapist to reveal details about Madeleine’s abduction.
But sources close to Brueckner have said that he would remain tight-lipped. He has previously said witnesses are lying about him and has cast doubt on existing DNA and electronic evidence.
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Madeleine McCann went missing in the Algarve in Portugal in 2007PAThe accused has shut down any accusations of involvement in Madeleine’s kidnapping in the past.
He is currently five years into a seven-year sentence for drug trafficking and the rape of an elderly American woman, again in the Algarve, in 2005.
He was imprisoned in 2019 after two former friends came forward to give evidence.
Brueckner later reached out to associates to help him clear his name, sending letters pushing people to “speak in his defence about what a good guy he was”.
Speaking to the Mirror last year, one ex-friend said: “I know of two people who got the messages from Chris – it really freaked them out.”
People Brueckner had known in the Algarve “hadn’t heard from him in years” before letters “suddenly arrived” asking them to speak up about “what a good guy he was”.
The source continued: “He said the German police and prosecutors have it in for him, that they are saying he is a monster – it’s outrageous for Chris to ask for help because now we all know about his past.
“Back when we were hanging with him in the early 2000s it was all a secret. We didn’t know he was a paedophile… But now he doesn’t stand a chance of anybody speaking up for him in court.”