Born Christian Fischer in southern Germany, Brueckner was adopted as a tot and comitted his first crime at age 15 – before turning to paedophilla, rape and drug trafficking

Christen Brueckner’s adoptive parents were reportedly cruel and violent towards him growing up

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner was locked in dark rooms and brutally beaten as a child, a former neighbour of the 47-year-old has claimed.

Born Christian Fischer in Bavaria, southern Germany, Brueckner was adopted as a tot after his biological mum struggled to cope and gave him up. He was then taken in by Brigitte and Fritz Brueckner, whose preferred method of discipline was to regularly beat him and his two brothers, it is alleged.

At just 15-years-old, Brueckner committed his first crime – a burglary – before turning to paedophilla, rape and drug trafficking. Alongside his life of crime, he was reportedly strictly disciplined by his “cold” parents, who would often beat and humiliate him.

A family friend of his adoptive parents said: “They were really cold; they were only interested in money. The dachshund was treated better than the children. One time she banged his head on the table. Another time he wet himself. His father pulled down his pants and hit him with his belt. When the boy started to cry, his father said, ‘If you cry, you’ll get a few more.'”

Prime Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner in court (Image: Phil Harris) 

A former neighbour also told German media that the children were locked up in dark rooms and were only allowed to drink at certain times, MailOnline reports. The neighbour said: “Even as small children the boys were beaten and shouted at, Brigitte would always say children must be strictly disciplined. They revealed how Brueckner and his brother were locked in dark rooms and were only allowed to drink at set times.”

“They (foster parents) were heartless and cold. The fact that they took in the children was just a business deal for them. They spoiled their beloved dachshund but repeatedly told the boys who they were, sons of a crook and a whore.”

In 1994, Brueckner was sent to a children’s home after seriously injuring his adoptive father Fritz. There, he was found guilty of his first sex offence in which he abused another child at the age of 17.

Brueckner followed the six-year-old into a bush, took his penis out of his pants, lifted her skirt and grabbed her between the legs. He would later go on to abuse a nine-year-old, and was jailed for two years for “sexual abuse of a child, attempted sexual abuse of a child and performing sexual acts in front of a child.”

Brueckner moved to Portugal in his late teens, and is believed to have lived there between 1995 and 2007 – in a campervan located not far from the holiday resort where Madeleine McCann was abducted. He is currently serving a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in Praia da Luz and drug trafficking.

This morning, the 47-year-old was cleared of a string of alleged sex offences in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, unrelated to Madeleine’s case.