Irish woman who accused Madeleine McCann suspect of rape says he could've been stopped

Sunday World

12 hours ago

Hazel Behan accused Christian Brueckner of raping her at her home in Portugal three years before the tot vanished
An Irish woman who accused Madeleine McCann's suspected killer of rape has says he could of been stopped.
Hazel Behan accused Christian Brueckner of raping her at her home in Portugal in 2004.
He went on trial in 2020, accused of raping the Dublin woman and a number of other women, but was aquitted. She has now said he could have been stopped from attacking other women, and potentially kidnapping and murdering the British tot in 2007.
'I feel that those who were in a position and mandated a position to protect and serve and do their job didn't,' Behan told The State of Us Podcast hosts Tara Mills and Declan Harvey.
Hazel Behan at home in Mullingar. Photo: Steve Humphreys
'It also places a huge amount of guilt in me because even though I know I couldn't have done anything more… it doesn't stop the guilt that I have.
'If I had shouted louder, that if I had made more of a fuss at the time, all of these things may not have happened to other people,' she confessed.
'I carry that because of them not doing their job, and that really, really upsets me.
'Like to a point that I feel that they need to be called out for that.
'I don't think all these years later I should be doing all, having to go through all this again because of the ineptitude of a police force.'
'There's people like me and other victims who believe they're victims of Christian Bruckner who have suffered as a result.'
It comes as German police began fresh searches in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in connection with the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeline McCann.
Search teams investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance use a digger next to a derelict property close to Praia De Luz, Portugal. Photo: PA
The search was reportedly prompted by the discovery of disturbing new evidence found on a hard drive hidden in Brueckner's 'secret lair'.
Cops discovered a hard drive containing pictures at a disused factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany, which was purchased by Bruckner in 2008, just one year after the toddler vanished.
Details of the find were reported by The Sun and Channel 4.
The files were uncovered in 2016 when a dog ran onto the property and appeared to find a grave.
When authorities dug, they discovered a deceased dog lying on top of a wallet containing six USB sticks and two memory cards, which reportedly contained disturbing materials.
Following this, 100 cops launched a full-scale search, finding children's clothes and toys, as well as masks, chemicals and three black market guns.
The sinister items also included stories allegedly written by the German national, one of which detailed the abuse of a four-year-old blonde girl.
Missing Madeleine McCann and suspect Christian Brueckner
News in 90 Seconds - 6th June 2025
Child abuse images, records of Skype conversations with paedophiles and 75 children's swimming costumes were also found, as well as a metal case of photographs depicting girls believed to be aged four and five.
In 2020, Brueckner went on trial accused of five separate counts of rape and sexual assault which prosecutors allege he committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
One of these charges related to the alleged rape of Westmeath woman Hazel Behan after he broke into her apartment via the balcony while she was sleeping.
A court heard that she was raped by him in June 2004 while working as a holiday rep in Portugal.
He was acquitted of all charges, but the Irish woman has now lodged an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging inaction by Portuguese police in identifying and prosecuting Brueckner for her rape.
Cops trying to find evidence of Brueckner's involvement in McCann's disappearance are in a race against time as he is expected to be released from prison in later this year.
The German is serving time behind bars for the rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Madeline McCann vanished from her family's holiday rental in Praia da Luz two years later in May 2007.
Madeleine McCann has been missing since 2007
The tot slept in a bedroom with her two younger twin siblings as their parents dined at a nearby restaurant with their friends.
When Madeline's mother, Kate, checked on her children at around 10 pm, Maddie was not there, and the alarm was raised.
The case of the missing girl captivated the world, and continues to do so as no trace of the 3-year-old has ever been found, despite an international manhunt to find her.
No one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance.
If you've been effected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact the Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 77 8888.