Madeleine McCann suspect ‘tied up teenager for for days’ and burgled homes ‘while naked’
Christian Brueckner, the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, boasted to a friend about a four-day sexual assault of a girl as young as 14, a court has been told.
Michael Tatschl, 50, was giving evidence at Brueckner’s trial – unrelated to Maddie, but which sees him accused of five counts of sexual assault in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 – in the German city of Braunschweig.
He told the court that the “14 or 15”-year-old girl had come from a local rehabilitation programme and had “run away” when she encountered Brueckner.
Tatschl said the Maddie suspect had installed a “chest height” iron ring at his farmhouse, to which he tied the teenager “for days”, forcing her to perform sexual acts before eventually letting her go.
Tatschl claimed Brueckner “boasted” about the attack to him while the two men were serving an eight-month prison sentence in 2006 for stealing fuel.
He added that the suspect was into “sado-masochism” and kept handcuffs, a whip and a balaclava “with a small slit” at home, saying: “I don’t know anyone with a balaclava like it and there was one long whip – 30-40cm long – with long leather bits.”
The 50-year-old also said Brueckner had boasted about breaking into and burgling holiday homes in Portugal while naked.
Tatschl said: “Once, he told me he broke in and three teenage girls were sleeping in the living room… And he was naked. One of them woke up when a phone rang and screamed.
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“The girl’s father heard the scream and came, so Christian had to run and jump off a balcony and run away.
“He burgled naked quite a few times because he did not want to leave a trace.”
Brueckner, who stashed away stolen watches, passports and jewellery in his home, enjoyed burgling British tourists in Portugal as they kept cash in their accommodation, Tatschl told the court.
The news comes after it emerged that Brueckner’s ex-girlfriend had been part of a paedophile ring, and had “provided him with young girls” – including a 13-year-old girl in a set of horrific tapes.
A witness told judges that he had been told Brueckner “brought a woman washing machines and instead of paying him for it, [his ex-girlfriend] provided him with young girls.”
It was also alleged that the woman had called Brueckner mere hours after the toddler vanished, a court heard.