A documentary showed a re-enactment of a rape the victim claims was carried out by Christian Brueckner, a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann – but the actor has his own troubling past
An actor who played a knife-wielding rapist in a re-enactment of a brutal sex attack was found guilty of a domestic violence-related offence.
A report on the Australian TV channel Nine’s flagship TV show 60 Minutes re-enacted an attack on Irishwoman Hazel Behan, who claimed she was raped by the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian Brueckner, in 2004. Clad in a balaclava, Joel Aaron Baker played the attacker in that re-enactment and recently boasted about his role on the programme.
The documentary about Brueckner aired just 10 days after Baker was placed on a conditional release order, following his conviction for destroying or damaging property, a domestic violence-related offence. He was cleared of assaulting his wife during his appearance at Sutherland Local Court in New South Wales on May 29.
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“A small acting job I got to do for a re-enactment on last night’s episode of 60 Minutes on Channel 9,” he wrote on Facebook after the 60 Minutes episode aired. “Warning: It’s not a nice topic related to the Madeleine McCann case, but you can see the full story on @9now.” He also posted the clip on his Instagram account.
His boasting upset his wife’s family. “What has caused our family even more distress is Joel’s immediate public sharing of the 60 Minutes segment via his social media, seemingly celebrating his appearance despite the deeply concerning nature of his personal conduct,” said a relative, according to the Mail Online.
The conditional release order, stemming from an incident at the ex-couple’s marital home in 2024, says he is prevented from going within 50 metres of his wife or her workplace.
He was also made the subject of a two-year apprehended violence order and the conditional release order says he must take part in a domestic violence programme that is supervised by a community corrections officer.
Two months earlier, Baker was found not guilty of seven common assault charges, all of them domestic violence related.
Baker, 36, has launched an appeal against the conviction. The appeal is listed for hearing at Downing Centre District Court for October 2.
The former couple also split in October last year. He is not allowed to contact her unless it is through a lawyer. A spokesperson for Nine said the network was not aware of Baker’s history and said actors for re-enactments are sourced through a talent agency.
“We were not made aware of these claims and we are now in the process of removing the footage from the story on online episodes,” the spokesperson said.
Baker, a former manager of a McDonald’s outlet, has also appeared on the recent World War Two drama The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He also featured in Home and Away and NCIS: Sydney.