Friend of Christian Brueckner feared the Madeleine McCann suspect 'was part of a mafia pornography ring', trial hears after witness says she feared he would rape her

An associate of Christian Brueckner feared the Madeleine McCann suspect was part of a 'mafia gang' making pornographic videos, his sex assault trial has heard.

Witness Nadia Prepeluh, 49, told the court she had been told about the films by previous witness Helge Busching after he broke into Brueckner's home and watched them.

She said Busching had been left 'terrified' by what he had seen on the videos - an elderly woman and young girl being raped - and was scared Brueckner would 'come after him'.

Ms Prepeluh added: 'Helge said that as soon as Christian came out of prison he would know someone had broken into his house.

'Helge said he was afraid because he thought there was a video mafia, a porno mafia, and his assumption was that Christian was part of it.'

Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner arrived in court this morning for his ongoing sex crimes trial with the judge due to hear from ex-lovers and friends

Witness Nadia Prepeluh, 49, told the court she had been told about the films by previous witness Helge Busching (pictured)

She added: 'Helge told me he was really afraid of this video mafia and that's why he had left and gone to Greece.'

Ms Prepeluh said the conversation had come about when she met Helge at a festival in Orgiva, Spain, a year after Madeleine vanished.

This was the same event where Brueckner is said to have told former pals it was 'strange she didn't scream' when the then three-year-old British girl was taken.

She said Helge had told her there were 'terrible sex crimes' on the video and he had been left very upset by what he had seen but he hadn't gone to the police because he feared getting into trouble.

She added: 'Eventually in 2017 I heard from him and he said he had gone to the police and told them about the videos and I did the same.'

In a previous hearing the court heard the footage is said to show a masked man raping and torturing an elderly woman and young girl.

At the end of the videos the attacker later removed his face covering and it was Brueckner, according to Busching and another witness called Manfred Seyferth.

The testimony comes after another witness today revealed she and a friend had been invited to go on holiday by Brueckner, and told the court she feared she 'would be raped' by him and armed herself 'with a knife'.

Charity worker Andrea Barth, 49, said she was in her late 20s when she was invited to Brueckner's ramshackle home in Portugal on a three-week holiday in 2006 and described her fear on arriving at the convicted sex attacker's house.

Charity worker Andrea Barth, 49, said she was in her late 20s when she was invited to Brueckner's ramshackle home in Portugal

Christian Brueckner arriving in court in Braunschweig, Germany, April 10, 2024

She said that when she and her friend arrived at his home – just a few minutes from where Madeleine vanished – she recalled it as being 'incredibly dirty' and she became frightened about what might happen.

German Ms Barth said: 'I started to have some concerns,' before adding: 'I started to have strange feeling and started to think "Where are we?" and "I don't know this person."

'I started to think something isn't right here and I was afraid,' she said, adding that she feared they would become 'classic rape victims.'

'It was a definitely a very big fear and called my sister in Germany and asked her to get a number for the tourist office to find us a hotel.

'My emotions really spiralled, we were in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to plan an escape.

'We got knives from the kitchen just in case we would have to defend ourselves. For me the danger was very realistic.'

Then three-year-old Madeleine vanished from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal's Algarve coast, in May 2007 where she was staying with her parents and siblings

Ms Barth said that Brueckner went out on one night before eventually returning at around 3am.

She added: 'I was really afraid that Brueckner would come back and that we would be victims of sexual crime.'

Nevertheless, Ms Barth said in evidence that she and her friend decided to stay awake until he got back. 

She said they told Brueckner that they wanted to go and stay elsewhere, in the nearby town of Lagos, and planned to get him to drive them into town when he returned.

She said they were 'in the middle of nowhere' and otherwise had 'no way of escaping' as they had no transport.

Ms Barth said that Brueckner drove her and her pal into town the following morning, and they then checked into a hotel for the rest of the holiday.

But they later met him for a drink and went to a lighthouse with him, and pictures of the smiling trio were shown in court.

She added: 'I felt more secure then but I still thought he was a fantasist and petty criminal.'

Under cross examination from Brueckner's legal team, Ms Barth was asked: 'Is it perhaps more likely you were frightened by the spiders you had seen at the house?' She denied this.

Madeleine McCann prime suspect Brueckner arrived in court this morning for his ongoing sex crimes trial, with the judge expected to hear from ex-lovers and friends.

Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket, Brueckner, 47, was brought into court with handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before sitting down.

The convicted rapist and paedophile was sensationally named by German police in June 2020 as the man they believe responsible for Madeleine's 'abduction and murder'.

However, since the announcement no charges have been brought raising fears there is no real evidence against him, and he is currently on trial for unrelated sex crimes.

Brueckner was living on the Algarve in 2007 when three-year-old Madeleine went missing while on holiday with parents Kate and Gerry McCann in the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Dressed in his now trademark blazer and jacket, Brueckner, 47, was brought into court with handcuffs and shook hands with his legal team before sitting down

He is charged with raping three women and sex assaults on children between 2000 and 2017 in the same area, and is on trial in Braunschweig, Germany, where he used to live.

Brueckner's trial started two months ago and has heard testimonies from several witnesses who knew him when he lived in the Algarve.

Two graphic videos which are said to show sex attacks on an elderly woman and young girl are also key to the case.

The trial has already heard from former pals Manfred Seyferth and Helge Busching who claim to have seen the videos after breaking into Brueckner's home in Portugal while he was in jail for stealing diesel.

Earlier in the trial it was revealed key witness Busching was suffering from cancer which could have a severe impact on the Madeleine investigation and any future trial as his diagnosis is terminal.

Busching has told the court he saw the videos and recognised Brueckner and also contacted Scotland Yard to tip them off about him as he had overheard him saying of Madeleine 'she didn't scream' when she was taken.

Busching also told the court Brueckner was an 'expert at lock picking' and could have easily broken into her room as he was a prolific thief stealing cameras and passports from hotels.

Michael Tatschl, a former partner in crime of Brueckner, told the trial that the convicted sex offender would break into holiday apartments naked.

He said Brueckner would use the bizarre modus operandi so as not to leave evidence and catch his clothes on surfaces.

Tatschl said: 'He scaled the walls. Once he told me he broke in and three teenage girls were sleeping in the living room. He was naked. One of them woke up when a phone rang and screamed.

'The girl's father heard the scream and came, so Christian had to run and jump off a balcony. He burgled naked quite a few times because he did not want to leave a trace.'

Previously, Tatschl has told how he was a 'partner in crime' with Brueckner when they lived in Portugal and told German media he heard him talk about 'selling children to a paedophile ring in Morocco'.

In a previous interview he also said he was 'convinced' Bruecker had taken Madeleine and said: 'I know he did it. He is more than capable of taking a small child.'

On November 18 last year, prosecutors confirmed Brueckner would stand trial for various charges of sexual abuse against women aged between 10 and 80  

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007

Michael Tatschl, a former partner in crime of Brueckner, pictured outside of German court prior to testifying

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

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

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.

Brueckner is currently on trial accused of raping three women and assaulting children between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve.

He was jailed in 2019 for seven years after being convicted of raping an elderly woman in the Algarve in 2005.

Brueckner's defence has tried several times to have witnesses ruled out saying the case is unfair and prejudiced against their client because of the link to Madeleine but all attempts have so far failed.

The trial is expected to continue through the spring and into the summer.