Christian Brueckner has given his first interview from Sehnde Prison as a German reporter reveals the convicted paedophile does not seem to be “aware of any guilt”
The prime suspect in the case of missing Madeleine McCann has spoken out from behind bars for the first time.
Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner appeared to show “no guilt” – and says he’s looking forward to a “nice steak and a beer” the moment he walks free.
The 48-year-old is the man German investigators believe abducted Madeleine from her family’s rented holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007. But now, just as German and Portuguese investigators begin fresh searches in the area, Brueckner has given a face-to-face interview to the German network RTL.
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Brueckner personally sent the reporter a visiting permit to allow him to get through the tight security at Sehnde Prison near Hanover. Here he is currently serving the end of a seven-year sentence for the brutal rape of a 72-year-old American woman, Dianne Menkes in the Algarve in 2006, which he still denies.
After the interview, the RTL reporter Ulrich Oppold said: “After a thorough search, I was led into a visiting room together with the relatives of other prisoners, where the prominent prisoner greeted me. Christian B. seemed intelligent to me, perhaps a little distant, and I think he had prepared himself very well for our conversation. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and, above all, what he didn’t want to say.”
Having made clear that he would not say anything about Maddie, having discussed the matter with his lawyers, Brueckner went on to discuss matters he had already mentioned in letters to the journalists, including his claim that he was wrongly convicted of the 2005 rape of the American OAP.
In one letter he wrote: “…the most important thing for me is of course the fact that I have been in prison for many years for something that I could not have committed and that half the world believes me to be a cruel rapist.”
Brueckner also claimed his “I was assaulted by another inmate — at least one rib was broken. I now stay in my cell 24 hours a day. I don’t go out. Not even for food.” During the interview, Brueckner revealed he passes the time in prison reading, drawing, and watching TV in his single cell.
Photos show the cell is fitted with a thin yellow curtain, a single bed on the left side, and a small table to the right with a white chair and a blue table cloth. Prison staff at Sehnde prison describe Brueckner as reclusive and emotionless.
But for the RTL journalist, he came across as confident and remorseless. “Christian B. made a very confident impression on me, he seemed serene, spoke with a slight Franconian accent and I had the feeling that I was looking at a man who was not aware of any guilt.”
Brueckner’s defence team have applied for him to be released early. But he is still has to somehow pay his court-issued fines for insulting a prison officer at Sehnde prison – and as he apparently has no money, then this will have to be paid in time by spending more days in prison.
Furthermore, he will soon have to face yet another court hearing for also insulting another prison officer when at Oldenburg prison in northern Germany. Christian B. said he does not expect to be released any time soon, but should it come to that, he would have to go into hiding, saying he is “as well-known as a colourful dog.”
And he added that he “is most looking forward to a proper steak with a beer.” During the trial last year, Brueckner was acquitted after being charged with five non-related sex offences, including 3 separate counts of rape and two cases of exposing himself to children.
But forensic psychiatrist Dr Christian Riedemann said Brueckner was amongst the highest category of dangerous person, and said he was a “psychopath with paedophilic tendencies.” Meanwhile the search for evidence in the Maddie McCann case is underway today in Portugal.
Should investigator uncover any relevant evidence, this could mean they finally press charges against Brueckner , thus preventing his release. Despite being named in 2020 as the prime suspect in the Maddie McCann case, Brueckner has still not been charged.