>
An Irish woman who was knifed 18 years ago in Portugal by a man she believes is the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance spoke of her ‘joy’ after he was charged.
Hazel Behan, now 39, was attacked in June 2004 in a holiday apartment in Praia da Rocha – 10 miles from Praia da Luz, where Maddie disappeared – by “a German man with piercing blue eyes” who broke in through the balcony.
Christian Brueckner, the man German prosecutors say kidnapped Maddie in May 2007, has now been charged with the rape of Ms Behan and four other sex crimes committed in the same area between 2000 and 2017.
Ms Behan, who previously waived her right to anonymity to speak about her ordeal, said yesterday that she believed there was “zero chance” of Brueckner ever appearing in court over the charges and she is “elated” at her chance. to get justice.
Hazel Behan, now 39, was raped at the age of 20 in a holiday apartment in Praia da Rocha, Portugal, by a man she believes is the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Christian Brueckner (left) was charged yesterday with the rape of Ms Behan and a string of four other sex offenses allegedly committed in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. He is also suspected of kidnapping Maddie (right) from the same area in 2007. , but has not been charged.
She said: ‘I am delighted that after many hours and days of interviews in Ireland and Germany I am finally seeing justice. It was the most gruesome attack.’
Ms Behan, 20 years old and working as a holiday worker at the time of the attack, says an attacker wearing a mask climbed the outside of her apartment while she was sleeping and climbed in through the balcony.
She woke up and found herself being held with a knife. She says the man then beat her, tied her up and raped her while filming the attack.
Speaking to Olive Press, she added: ‘It was very difficult and grueling to come back to the attack, spending over 20 hours with detectives in Ireland and then three days with police in Germany.
“But the specific dedicated teams in both countries were so sensitive and well able to get me back to my room that night.
“I’ve always said from the start that my attacker was a German with piercing blue eyes and a voice I would recognize instantly.
“When Brueckner’s name was released in connection with the Madeleine case, I knew it was him. It made me sick to death.’
“I knew I had no chance for justice, but thanks to all the campaigning and perseverance of Madeleine’s wonderful parents, today, 18 long years after my rape, I have the chance to see my attacker behind bars (for my crime). ‘
Brueckner was also charged with two rapes that allegedly took place sometime between 2000 and 2006 – one on a 14-year-old girl and another on a woman between 70 and 80 years old – both at his apartment in Praia da Luz.
He is also charged with ambushing a 10-year-old German girl who was playing on Salema beach in April 2007 – near where Madeleine disappeared just a month later – in the Faro district of Portugal, wearing only shoes and otherwise naked. .
He allegedly forced her to watch him perform a sexual act.
The fact that Brueckner has not been charged in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance from parents Kate and Gerry’s holiday apartment (pictured) in Praia da Luz will bring new heartache, as they had hoped it would mark the end of the 15-year mystery
Ten years later, he is said to have committed a similar crime against a girl on a playground in Bartolomeu de Messines, Portugal.
Prosecutors say the girl ran to her father for help and the suspect was arrested on the spot by Portuguese police.
Brueckner’s lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, said the new charges came as a “complete surprise” to him and his client and that they were based on “dubious witnesses and video evidence that no one has been able to find.”
The charges related to the rapes of the two unknown women come after police were notified of a videotape of Brueckner allegedly attacking them.
Helge Busching and Manfred Seyferth – two key witnesses and former friends of Brueckner – are said to have stolen the camera with the recording on it from the German’s house near Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve coast.
In the images that have since disappeared, they describe how an older woman and a young girl are raped by a man they identify as Brueckner.
Under German law, German citizens accused of crimes in other countries can be tried in their own country.
Investigators believe the 45-year-old also murdered Madeleine, then three, after he kidnapped her from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. However, he has not been charged with her disappearance.
Brueckner, who has reportedly denied any involvement in the case, was identified as a suspect in the McCann case in June 2020 by Portuguese officials.
But the fact that Brueckner has not been charged in Madeleine’s disappearance from parents Kate and Gerry’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz will cause new heartache, as they had hoped it would end the 15-year mystery.
Braunschweig’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the suspect is the same person under investigation in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.
Specifically, the suspect is charged with three offenses of aggravated rape and two offenses of child sexual abuse, the prosecutor added. “The investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance continues,” it noted.
Madeleine disappeared from this apartment in the seaside town of Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007 while on vacation with her family.
When asked about the McCann case, District Attorney Hans Christian Wolters told MailOnline: “We hope to put all our energies into the McCann case once the other investigations are completed.
“But we don’t know how it ends, it’s still open for now, maybe we can file a lawsuit, maybe not, but we still have hope.”
Brueckner’s lawyer Fulscher. responded to the string of new charges told MailOnline: “This comes as a complete surprise to me and my client.
The charges appear to be based on statements by two dubious witnesses and on video evidence that no one has been able to find.
‘These same two people also provided evidence in the McCann case and their testimony was not even shown to me.
‘Part of the evidence in the case of the rape’ [of the 20-year-old woman] is that the attacker had a large tattoo or birthmark on his leg and the prosecution is well aware that my client has neither.
“To file charges, the prosecutor must be satisfied that the information in the case is reliable and relevant, and we believe it is not. This is not a fair investigation.’
The case against Brueckner is expected to start next spring.
Brueckner is currently in Oldenburg Prison, serving seven years for the 2005 rape of an elderly American woman at her Praia da Luz home.
He was convicted after DNA from a hair in her bed was linked to him. Brueckner and his lawyer Fulscher have denied his involvement and have maintained that he was convicted after a failed investigation.
Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor investigating Madeleine’s disappearance, recently warned that there is no end in sight for the three-year-old’s investigation.
In a letter to a friend seen by MailOnline, Brueckner said: ‘In the 2005 rape of the old lady, the perpetrator was described as dark-eyed and incredibly strong. I was convicted, but I never had dark eyes or looked like Dwayne Johnson.”
He added: “There is absolutely no evidence that I committed this cruel crime. No DNA – just nothing. Things appeared just when there was nothing yet.
‘My hair from the case 2005 – 13 years old comes across it by chance in the laboratory of the BKA (German police). It was one of 15 hairs that were found, but mysteriously no DNA was found on 13, but on two – mine and the old lady.
“No more words are needed,” he added.
Brueckner’s lawyer has now appealed to German courts requesting that the 2019 rape conviction be re-examined because the evidence used to convict him is weak.
He claims that evidence in the new cases under investigation proves that Brueckner was unable to rape the pensioner, as German authorities say the attack and the one on Behan were carried out by the same tattooed man.
But Mr Fulscher has pointed out that his client has no tattoos and has therefore been unable to carry out the rapes, although he told MailOnline that he did not hope his appeal would be upheld.
He said, “Only a vanishingly small proportion of applications are successful.”
Earlier this year, on the 15th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance, her parents said it is “essential” to learn the truth about what happened to their daughter.
On the same day, the Metropolitan Police, which continues to handle the case as a missing persons investigation, said it is “committed” to uncovering the truth.
In July 2013, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance.