Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner remained expressionless on Wednesday afternoon as he was presented with photos and videos of the missing youngster in court.
It was the first time images of Madeleine – who went missing in Portugal in 2007 – have been shown in Bruckner’s ongoing trial on unconnected sex crimes, reports the Mirror.
The German paedophile is standing trial in Germany for unconnected sex crimes which were allegedly carried out in the Algarve.
Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping an American pensioner in the Portuguese resort and is suspected of abducting and killing three-year-old Madeleine in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
The trial, which has been taking place since February, had previously only briefly mentioned Madeleine, who would now be 20. However, today images and footage of the tot were dramatically displayed in Braunschweig court. They included the last snaps taken of the youngster on her family’s holiday to Praia da Luz.
The clips were from an episode an episode of the German equivalent of Crimewatch, which aired in June 2020.
It also included a reconstruction of the night Madeleine went missing and an interview with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leics.
Brueckner, who wore a light blue blazer, sat with his hand covering his mouth and stared at the screen as the videos were played in court. His lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher had requested the episode be played to highlight inconsistencies in witness statements.
The trial judge, Ute Engemann, has previously attempted to avoid any mention of Madeleine in the trial. Brueckner, 47, is accused of carrying out crimes in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. They include the alleged rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan, who was attacked in her apartment Praia da Rocha in 2004. Brueckner is also accused of raping a teenage girl in his Praia da Luz home and raping an elderly woman in her holiday apartment.
He also 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. Prosecutors seem to be no closer to proving he was behind Madeleine’s disappearance, despite claiming they have proof she is dead.
They face the nightmare scenario of seeing their prime suspect walk free if he is cleared in the latest trial. If Brueckner is found not guilty, he could be freed from prison in the early part of next year. A not guilty verdict would increase the pressure on them to charge Brueckner over Madeleine’s disappearance. The trial is due to end in December.
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