Young 'victim' of Christian Brueckner 'shouted "this is rape" while tied to a post but he just laughed': Madeleine McCann suspect's unrelated sex assault trial hears horrifying details of 'abuse he subjected women to on camera'

Christian Brueckner's former friend has testified at the Madeleine McCann suspect's trial for separate sexual assault charges - sharing horrifying details of abuse the German allegedly subjected a girl and elderly woman to on camera.

Helge Busching, who says he saw footage of the attacks, is the latest witness to give evidence at the court in Braunschweig, where Brueckner arrived early on Wednesday under a heavy police escort.

He said one of the clips showed a German girl, who estimated 'must have been around 13, 14 or 15 with black hair'. He said: 'She was tied to a post. She was shouting at Christian, "Hey, you know what this is? This is rape".' 

'But he just sat on the end of the bed and was laughing, I couldn't believe what I was watching,' he went on. 

Describing another video allegedly showing Brueckner and an elderly woman, Busching said: 'In the video a woman was tied onto a bed and was whipped and she had her eyes covered, then sexually abused her, and put on a condom, and the woman was screaming "You f***ing bastard" so I don't think she agreed with what was happening to her.

'Then he whipped the woman, and the end of the video was Christian Brueckner, he pulled down his mask, sat on [the] bed.'

Brueckner's lawyer earlier slammed prosecutors for labelling him the Madeleine McCann 'prime suspect' - saying it is impossible for him to get a fair trial as he returned to court this morning on unrelated rape charges.

Christian Brueckner's lawyers slammed local prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters who named him as the 'prime suspect' in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Brueckner's former pal Helge Busching is the latest to give evidence against the convicted paedophile

Brueckner's defence team opened proceedings with a furious attack on local prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters who named him as the 'prime suspect'.

Atilla Aykac stressed how despite almost four years of investigating no charges for Madeleine's disappearance had been made and his legal team had still not received the case files.

He said: 'The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is one of the biggest cases in the world but our client has not been charged and we have not seen any files.

'This is the fault of the public prosecutor's office and has created a worldwide sense of pillory against our client.

'This prejudices our client's case and also the ability of the court to try him fairly.'

He went on to accuse Mr Wolters - who was in court - of 'making publicity' for the case against Brueckner, 47, despite not having presented or shared any case files.  

Also in court today, Brueckner will face key witness Busching, who was set to tell prosecutors the convicted paedophile was an 'expert at lock picking'.

When asked to describe the rape of the elderly woman in more detail, Busching said: 'She was on a bed, in a nightdress which had been pulled and she was whipped with, I don't know how to call it but it looked like a large piece of leather, and he hit her on the breasts with it.

'Then he raped her, and i saw how he put on a condom but you couldn't see it directly, as she was on her side or her stomach.'

Busching added:'The woman was shouting at him 'You fxxxing bastard,' 'You fxxxing arsehole' but she wasn't screaming and that's when he took off his mask and I recognise him as Brueckner.

'The woman must have been between 70-80 years old, I didn't know her and she was wearing goggles that had been painted over so she couldn't see.

Brueckner is also facing former pal Helge Busching in court today as he tells prosecutors the convicted paedophile was an 'expert at lock picking'

'She was speaking English, he whipped her and then he raped her. I know it was Christian because when he took the mask off he looked directly into the camera.'

When asked if there was 'anal sex' he replied:' I couldn't see properly.'

Busching told the court that initially he and his friend Manfred Seyferth, who also watched the video and gave similar testimony lasty month, had discussed the possibility it was a snuff video because of the 'age of the elderly woman'.

When asked about the video of the younger victim, Busching said: 'She must have been around 13,14 or 15 with black hair. She was German and she had long dark hair. Bruecker was wearing shorts and the girl kept saying 'This is rape' but he didn't have a mask on like he did in the first video.' 

In clear and convincing testimony Busching also described Bruecker as 'dangerous' and then added his 'biggest regret' was not going to the authorities sooner with information on the videos.

He said he found them in around 2006 but hadn't mentioned it to police for more than ten years and his evidence was eventually used to convict Bruecker of raping an elderly American woman on the Algarve.

Atilla Aykac stressed how despite almost four years of investigating no charges for Madeleine's disappearance 

When asked why he hadn't come forward sooner Busching replied:'I've been carrying it around in my stomach for years but I was afraid I would get into trouble for breaking into the house to steal them.

'But also because of other things I have been involved in so I kept my mouth shut for a while.'

He told friends who were due to meet Brueckner that he had ominously warned them: 'If this guy turns up, then he is really dangerous.'

Busching also denied he had been paid by Scotland Yard for information he had given them on Brueckner when he called their Madeleine hotline with information on him.

He also told the court how his life had turned upside down after it emerged he was a key witness in the trial and he had quit his job in Corsica and had to move away.

Breuckner was sensationally named by German police four years ago as the man responsible for Madeleine's 'abduction and murder'.

However, despite the claim he has still not been charged and is currently on trial in his native Germany accused of unrelated sex crimes that took place in the same area of the Algarve where the then three-year-old disappeared.

Last year Busching told German media that Brueckner was an expert lock picker and could have easily got into the apartment in Praia da Luz where Madeleine was taken from in May 2007.

He said Brueckner bragged about the burglary toolkit which he would use to 'break into holiday resorts, hotels and holiday homes to steal from tourists', Busching told Bild newspaper.

Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket Brueckner was brought into court with handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before sitting down.

Busching, who is in German police witness protection, suggested that Brueckner 'came through the door' of the McCanns' holiday apartment, raising doubts over the official theory that Madeleine's kidnapper crept in through a window.

German police were reportedly 'electrified' by the discovery of the lock pick kit and also are investigating the possibility that Brueckner used car paint solvent to sedate the young girl.

He has denied any involvement in her abduction and is currently on trial accused of raping three women and sexually assaulting children between 2000 and 2017 on the Algarve.

Busching, who claims to have met Brueckner a year before Madeleine vanished, said he found the tool kit in the suspect's Algarve home after he and a friend, Manfred Seyfreth, decided to ransack the place.

Brueckner arrived early to the court in Braunschweig on Wednesday under a heavy police escort 

The petty criminal recalled seeing passports, cameras, suitcases and various items carried by tourists in the property, adding the he 'also found a lock pick set'.

Busching claims he kept the kit - which he says can be used to 'pick any lock, including security locks' - and later gave it to police in Germany.

The kit is understood to be made by Dino which touts that its products 'ensure easier access into the most restrictive European keyways fast'. It reportedly includes 14 black stainless steel picks that are each designed for a ­specific door type.

Police in Portugal have always claimed that Madeleine's abductor broke into the apartment through a window. They allege he likely left with the child through a door or by climbing back out the window.

But when asked how Brueckner entered the home, Busching asserted: 'Through the door. Easily. He can open any door.'

Busching also claimed that Brueckner had once confessed to kidnapping Madeleine alleged that Brueckner told him: 'She didn't scream.'

Busching claims Brueckner made the confession at the illegal Dragon Festival held in the southern Spanish mountain town of Orgiva a year after Madeleine vanished.

He also alleged that Brueckner turned up to the festival in an American campervan that he lived in between early 2007 and 2008. Busching says the van is not the Tiffin Allegro van police seized a few years back.

He insists the vehicle Brueckner drove to the the festival - known for its techno music, booze and drugs - was a Winnebago and believes that if police were able to track down the van, they would find traces of Madeleine's DNA.

Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket Brueckner was brought into court with handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before sitting down

Brueckner has denied any involvement in McCann's abduction and is currently on trial accused of raping three women and sexually assaulting children between 2000 and 2017 on the Algarve 

Busching says he knows that Brueckner abducted Madeleine, adding that 'another witness knows it as well'.

He claims he advised the suspect to come clean but says Brueckner 'will never do that' because he is 'too stubborn' and 'assumes police cannot prove anything'.

Busching added he has been pressed by Brueckner's lawyers to retract his allegations has been forced into witness protection for the last four years.

Madeleine vanished from a rented holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007, during a family holiday.

Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, spearheaded a high-profile campaign for information about her disappearance.

Reports claim that phone records place Brueckner in the town on the night she vanished and that his yellow and white Volkswagen Westfalia campervan was spotted near the Algarve resort.

Last May German forensic experts searched a reservoir 30 miles from Praia da Luz as part of their ongoing investigation. They are understood to have taken soil samples for analysis.

Brueckner and Busching, who is also German, both previously lived in Portugal and were said to have been involved in petty theft.

Brueckner has claimed the pair have not spoken since 2007, when they discussed a drug deal, and has denied Busching's claims about their conversation in 2008, saying they were 'not even worthy of comment'.

Busching also claims to have seen videotapes which allegedly showed Brueckner sexually abusing an elderly woman and a teenage girl in Portgual.

In 2019 Brueckner was convicted in a German court of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman at her home in Portugal, close to Praia da Luz, and he is serving a seven-year sentence. Busching reportedly contacted British police about his former friend after he was arrested in Greece in 2017 over an alleged smuggling ring.

Madeleine's disappearance was initially investigated by police in Portugal, with support from officers in the UK. The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation in 2011 after the Portuguese operation was shelved.

But more than three years after linking Brueckner to Madeleine's disappearance, he has still not been charged regarding her abduction as prosecutors do not have enough evidence.