Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner refused his last chance to defend himself after uttering his first words in court.
The convicted paedophile is currently on trial in Germany accused of raping women and exposing himself to children in the Algarve. The charges against the 47-year-old are unconnected to the Madeline’s historic case.
So far, Brueckner has stay silent during his eight-month trial at Braunschweig regional court, however the German finally spoke today.
When he was asked by Judge Ute Engemann if there was anything he wanted to say, Brueckner replied softly: “No, I would not like to.” The judge will deliver her long-awaited verdict in the case tomorrow morning, reports the Mirror.
Prosecutors argued last week that Brueckner should be jailed for 15 years for the alleged crimes in Portugal. But the judge ruled in July the evidence against him was “insufficient” – a strong indication he will be acquitted. Brueckner’s lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, insisted today that his client should never have been charged with vile sex crimes.
Prosecutors have relied on the evidence of Helge Busching, who claims to have seen videos of Brueckner raping two women. Busching also tipped off police about the German paedophile’s alleged involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance. He claimed Brueckner told him “she didn’t scream” when they discussed the infamous case in a Spanish bar.
But in his closing speech today, Mr Fuelscher slammed star witness Busching. He branded him a liar, describing Busching as “a busybody, a person who lies and tries to make himself look important”. Mr Fuelscher told Braunschweig regional court: “There is no evidence at all which supports what he said. He has taken prosecutors for a ride.”
Brueckner sat motionless by his lawyer’s side, dressed in the same grey blazer he has worn throughout the trial. Mr Fuelscher told judges: “We are sitting here to decide on the freedom and fate of a human being. “This trial should never have taken place. If it was any other person, then on the basis of the evidence it would never have come to trial. The day has long passed whereby we lock away people based on them and not their crime.”
He accused prosecutors of “trying to influence the opinion of the public”. Mr Fuelscher said the Madeleine case and the worldwide interest in Brueckner “lay like a fog” over the trial. He branded the police investigation “amateurish”, saying he was “shocked” at the sloppy work carried out by detectives.
Mr Fuelscher pointed out that two of Brueckner’s alleged rape victims had never been traced. “You have to ask, how likely is it that people who have suffered like that would not have reported it?” he said. “And yet the German authorities and police put a lot of effort into researching this, and found nothing.”
Mr Fuelscher finished his speech by thanking the court for conducting a fair trial “despite the worldwide media condemnation”. The German is suspected of abducting and killing three-year-old Madeleine in Praia da Luz in May 2007. He is currently serving a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in the Portuguese resort.
If Brueckner is cleared he will be freed next year – which is a nightmare scenario for Madeleine investigators. Detectives appear no closer to proving he was behind her disappearance – despite claiming they have proof she is dead. A not guilty verdict would increase the pressure on them to charge Brueckner over Madeleine’s disappearance.
Prosecutors are expected to appeal to a higher court in Germany if he is cleared of the charges. A verdict could come as soon as tomorrow. Brueckner is accused of carrying out sickening crimes in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. They include the alleged rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan, who was attacked in her Praia da Rocha apartment in 2004.
Mr Fuelscher said what happened to Hazel was “terrible”, saying she was “raped in the most brutal way”. “We have no doubt at all that it happened,” he added. “But can it be proven beyond a doubt that it was him? “The answer to this question for me is clearly no.”
Brueckner is also accused of raping a teenage woman in his Praia da Luz home and raping an elderly woman in her holiday apartment. He faces a child sex charge for allegedly exposing himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007. His final charge relates to an alleged indecent exposure in front of an 11-year-old in 2017.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond. Sign up to our daily newsletter.