I feared Maddie suspect would rape me
Tourist tells court of night she stayed in Brueckner’s squat
A HOLIDAYMAKER feared she was going to be raped by Madeleine Mccann suspect Christian Brueckner when she met him through a friend, she told a court yesterday.
Andrea Barth, 49, went on holiday to Lagos in Portugal in 2003 with Yvonne Baumann and they were collected from the airport by him.
She told the court in Braunschweig, Germany, where he stands accused of a string of sex offences, that they were taken to a remote property where he was squatting.
The court also heard claims from former associates of Brueckner that he had been involved in a “porno mafia” and filmed videos in which he was engaged in sex attacks.
Ms Barth said: “He had occupied the house and he said that was usual in Portugal.
“I did not feel good about that. We went to the shops so that we could cook and we paid.
“When we got back, we tidied and cleaned up and he showed us his bedroom. There was a video camera with video cassettes lying around.
“We ate together and Herr Brueckner said that he was going into town around 9pm, we didn’t want to go as we were tired after the flight. When he went, I had a strange feeling and I did not feel safe. I had said to Frau Baumann, was it a good idea to stay here?
KNIVES
“It just did not feel right. It was a squat and there were no neighbours, there was no one around. I was not sure if Herr Brueckner would come back with other men and we were a classic rape risk.
“I had a great fear and rang my sister in Germany to get the number for the police in Portugal and the local tourist office to find a hotel.”
She and Yvonne took knives from the kitchen for protection during the night, with Mr Brueckner returning at around 2am to 3am, she told the court. She said he had clearly been drinking.
When he woke in the morning, they told him that they wanted to go into town “immediately” to find somewhere else to stay.
They met with him later in Lagos, close to Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing in 2007, and he bragged about his moneymaking schemes.
They were also pictured together at a local lighthouse.
She said she felt threatened by Brueckner and the situation they found themselves in.
Earlier yesterday one of his former associates told the hearing how Brueckner featured in videos doing “terrible things with young and old” people.
Brueckner lived in Portugal in a beachside community which included witness Nadia Prepeluh. She said she befriended Helge Busching and Michael Tatschl, who knew Brueckner, when she moved to Portugal at 30.
Ms Prepeluh, a cook now aged 49, told of videos which were found in the beachside flat where Brueckner lived, and said he was part of a “porno mafia”.
I wasn’t sure if he’d come back with men & we were a rape risk ANDREA BARTH HER TESTIMONY YESTERDAY
Busching had witnessed horrific scenes on the videos involving Brueckner, she said.
“He told me he had seen terrible things on the videos involving young and old,” she said. “I don’t know what it was. He thought about going to the police to report it anonymously. But he was worried because he was involved in break-ins.”
She added: “Helge Busching said the woman on the video was abused. She spoke
English. He [her attacker] was wearing a mask, but he was sure it was Christian Brueckner.”
Brueckner is alleged to have carried out sickening attacks on women and children in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
One of the alleged crimes happened just weeks before threeyear-old Madeleine vanished. He was jailed for the 2005 rape of a
pensioner in 2019 and is serving a seven-year jail term.
Brueckner denies all the charges as well as any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance. He lived in a house near Praia da Luz. Wearing a grey suit, and clutching a document folder, he watched as the witnesses gave evidence. The trial continues.