24 February 2024 , 08:06
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A sex crimes trial against the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann could be jeopardised amid claims that German investigators have secretly wiretapped his prison cell.
Christian Brueckner, a convicted sex offender, appeared at court in Braunschweig on Friday (Feb 23) for the second day of his trial relating to a number of sex attacks in Portugal between 2007 and 2017.
One of the cases is that of Hazel Behan, an Irish holiday rep who he brutally attacked in June 2004. The prosecution claims she was so terrified of the monster, who it is alleged tied her legs to table legs before raping her, that she feared he would "cut her head off" when dawn came after the late night attack. During the assault it is said he asked her "you are afraid of me aren't you?" before whipping her relentlessly.
Though the court is not dealing with the case of missing Madeleine - who disappeared from her family's Praia da Luz holiday home in 2007 - his defence team has been using the opportunity to decry foul play from the world's media in relation to the case.
Little Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's holiday home in 2007 (PA)But now the lawyers may have something substantial to derail the current case. A former employee of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has claimed she was involved in the process of installing bugging technology into the paedophile's cell. She also says she has photographs to prove it, according to T- Online.
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She said that two of her colleagues, fellow BKA officers, told her they had a "personal score" to settle with Brueckner. The reason it could be so explosive is that the conversations between Brueckner and his lawyers, which must remain confidential for a fair trial, could have also been tapped.
During his opening statement yesterday, defence solicitor Dr Friedrich Fulscher said: "Since June 2020, our client Christian Brueckner has been under constant worldwide media fire. According to the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office, he allegedly abducted and murdered Madeleine Beth McCann.
He is accused of a number of sex crimes that allegedly took place in Portugal over a 10-year period (The Daily Mirror)"The investigating authorities have been repeating this theory to the media like a prayer wheel. The results of the investigation have not yet been presented to the defence, so that the accused has not been able to substantiate this allegation. A comparable media campaign of prejudgement has been sought in vain.
"The greatest challenge for the court in these proceedings will be to free itself from these ulterior motives when investigating the procedural truth and assessing the evidence with regard to the accusations levelled.
"We are not hearing the best-known missing persons case of the post-war period, but five other serious allegations with numerous legal and factual difficulties for the taking of evidence."
Madeleine's case is only a talking point in the current trial. The 47-year-old faces three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. The offences are said to have occurred in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
One of the charges involves him grabbing a child and performing a sex act on himself near Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared, weeks before she vanished.
The court was also told that Brueckner used a rape drug to incapacitate his victims. One of whom was an elderly woman he allegedly whipped 20 times inside her holiday home.
During the alleged attack, he was wearing "a stocking mask that only had holes for his eyes and mouth" and forced his victim to put on "swimming goggles." After the attack, he covered her face with a pillow and tried to suffocate her. He is also accused of tying a 14-year-old German-speaking girl to a post and raping her in the same Portuguese town.