The FBI agent who cleared Christian Brueckner’s £1,300 court debt – which will allow him to walk free months early – said she ‘felt sorry’ for him and feared his human rights were being violated
A German FBI agent has admitted paying the fine that will allow Madeleine McCann’s prime suspect to walk free months early – despite knowing he was a convicted rapist and pedophile.
Rebecca K, 39, has now been revealed as the mystery donor who cleared Christian Brueckner’s £1,300 court debt. She said she “felt sorry” for him and feared his human rights were being violated. The decision could see him released this week rather than in January, reducing the window investigators had hoped to use to bring charges.
Brueckner has been the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance since 2020, but he has never been charged. Detectives had expected his outstanding fine to delay release, buying them vital time to prepare their case. Now there are fears he could disappear, undermining the investigation.
Rebecca K was once part of the covert team monitoring Brueckner. But her career at Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the country’s equivalent of the FBI, collapsed after a fall-out with colleagues.
Explaining her actions, she said: “I felt sorry for him. He claimed he had been tortured and I believed his human rights might have been infringed. I thought his human rights had been violated in the same way I felt my human rights had been violated by my former colleagues.
“When I paid the fine I knew Brueckner was a convicted, violent rapist and child abuser but his lawyer told me that he denies everything, and it was maybe wrong.”
The fine related to older offences of assault, document forgery and drunkenness. At first, Rebecca K admitted her decision to pay it had been “a mistake” and suggested she would try to withdraw it. Later, however, she confirmed she would let it stand, ensuring Brueckner’s early release.
She also admitted her actions were driven partly by resentment towards her former team. “If Madeleine’s parents asked me why I did this I would say to help find out the truth about my own case,” she said.
Brueckner is serving time for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz – the same resort where Madeleine vanished two years later. His phone was logged in the area that night and he made a 30-minute call from the resort. The following day, his Jaguar was re-registered to a friend.
Further evidence has been uncovered, including his fixation with young blonde girls, disturbing computer material, and a remark in 2008 when he allegedly said Madeleine “did not scream,” reports the Sun.
Rebecca K has also admitted passing information from the Madeleine investigation to Brueckner’s lawyers, although she insists it was accidental. “This was a completely honest mistake. I thought they already knew,” she said.
The BKA has rejected her claims, saying she left voluntarily and stressing that staff are legally bound to confidentiality. They also warned: “The BKA takes legal action if false accusations are made.”
Last night, Rebecca K appeared to reverse her position again, insisting she now regrets paying the fine.