Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner speaks for the first time during unrelated sex crime trial
7 October 2024, 14:23
The prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance uttered his first words in court as he prepares to face the verdict in his trial on separate sex crimes charges.
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Christian Brueckner 47, arrived at the courthouse in Braunschweig for the closing stages of his trial dressed in the same pale blue jacket and open-necked shirt he has worn since the start of proceedings eight months ago.
His main lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher hinted that Brueckner was only on trial because of his link with Madeleine's internationally recognised case.
Read More: Prosecutors call for 15-year sentence for Madeleine McCann suspect in unrelated trial
Fuelscher went on to attack the prosecution. He said: "They have presented one-sided and selective investigative results, submitted nonsensical motions to dismiss and tried to influence public opinion."
When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say himself, Brueckner leant forward and uttered softly: "No, I would not like to."
Convicted rapist and paedophile Brueckner was sensationally named as the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine in June 2020 by German police but since then no charges have been brought.
Madeleine's parents are bracing themselves for the verdict which could be as early as tomorrow.
Prosecutors last week urged the Braunschweig state court to convict the 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Brueckner, of two counts of rape and two of sexual abuse.
They argued that he should be given a 15-year-prison sentence and kept in preventive detention once he has served his term, though they said he should be acquitted of a third rape charge.
However, the defendant's defence team said on Monday that an acquittal would be the right outcome.
Lawyer Friedrich Fulscher told the court that "there was never a sufficient suspicion" against his client, the dpa news agency reported.
Brueckner has been on trial since February over offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Defence lawyers pointed to what they labelled a lack of evidence and witnesses who were not credible, and Mr Fulscher suggested Brueckner might not have been charged if he had not also been a suspect in the McCann case.
Read More: Madeleine McCann suspect 'confessed to abducting girl from Portuguese apartment,' court hears
The suspect has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder.
He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine's disappearance there in May 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.
The defendant is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005.
In July, the court lifted an arrest warrant in the cases at stake in the current trial, citing a lack of "urgent suspicion" against the defendant.
But he has remained behind bars because of the sentence he is currently serving.
