Witness testifies against Maddie suspect Christian Brueckner.
Christian B., who's in the spotlight for Madeleine McCann's disappearance case, is undergoing a trial in Braunschweig for other alleged crimes. A woman has now identified him as the man who approached her near the crime scene before Maddie's disappearance.
In this trial concerning sexual child abuse charges against Christian B. alongside the Madeleine McCann case, a witness has pointed out him as the culprit of an incident that occurred on a Portuguese beach back in 2007. During the court proceedings, the 27-year-old woman stated confidently, "I am very, very sure." She described the unsettling moment when the man, one who had a grin she categorized as "sleazy," gathered a group of children in a suspicious manner.
As per the indictment, the 47-year-old German man targeted a 10-year-old girl at a beach area in Salema in the Faro district. He allegedly groped the girl from behind a rock while having his other hand busy with a sexually inappropriate act. The witness noted a "significant grin," deeming it "sleazy." She was playing with her brother and some friends when she spotted a naked man, and moments later, the man inquired about her name after grabbing her wrist before abruptly releasing her. "As soon as he was done, he let me go right away," the witness recalled.
Accused of Three Rapes and Two Child Abuse Cases
The beach incident is being charged as child sexual abuse in the ongoing Braunschweig trial. It's worth mentioning that the German man is also accused of three rape cases and two cases of sexual abuse of children. Despite the heightened interest in the case due to his association with the Madeleine McCann case, he is still presumed innocent.
Years after the distressing event, the Federal Criminal Police Office contacted the witness, stating that they had a convicted sex offender in their sights who was suspected of abducting and killing the three-year-old Madeleine McCann. In 2020, she encountered a TV show airing on ZDF's "Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst" that interestingly publicized a German sexual offender's possible involvement in the made little girl's disappearance. The show's imagery piqued her curiosity, and the witness started sifting through the internet for more details. Upon viewing numerous digital photographs, she identified him as the person she'd encountered years earlier. The trial's criminal court in Braunschweig received her testimony.
She recalled the attacker as a skinny individual with blonde hair. She further reported certain birthmarks, a long head shape, protruding front teeth, and a distressing grin as notable features. Taking into consideration the prosecution's perspective, the witness gave a detailed account of the recognition of the defendant across various images. The defense argued the evidentiary worthlessness of repeated recognition. It was all about an invalid recognition process.
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Source: www.ntv.de
