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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
John Kierans

Irish woman allegedly raped by Madeleine McCann suspect proud to bring him to justice

An Irish woman who claims she was raped by the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann has told how she is so proud to bring him to justice.

Hazel Behan, 39, is expected to face evil Christian Brueckner across a German courtroom later this year. It will be 19 years since he allegedly stripped her naked, beat and raped her over a four hour period while she was living and working in Portugal. The 46 year old sex fiend also allegedly filmed the shocking attack.

In a social media post on Instagram Hazel vowed that her attacker will never get the better of her. She also wrote how she is “unbelievably proud“ that she found the strength to get over the attack and not let it destroy her life. But she also told Brueckner: ”I am not the lonely, unloved person you are.” The fearless mum stated: ”I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter, sister and friend. I laugh, I run freely without limits. I am free. So who is the real winner?

“16th of June, I salute you. 19 years of saluting this life changing date. 19 years of celebrating my survival. 19 years of getting to know the ‘new ‘ me. 19 years of digging deep and finding strength . 19 years of trying to forget. 19 years later I am so unbelievably proud of myself. You are not a victim for sharing your story. You are a survivor setting the world on fire with your truth.”

Read more: Gareth Kelly's heartbroken family react as killer Christina Anderson jailed for eight years

Hazel was 20 years old at the time of the brutal incident. She was followed home from the bar where she worked on the Algarve. Her masked attacker spoke English with a German accent.

Brueckner is currently serving a seven year jail sentence in Germany for a filmed rape against an American pensioner Diana Menkes a year after Hazel’s ordeal. That incident occurred in the Portuguese town of Praia da Luz where Maddie McCann went missing 18 months previously. German police are planning to charge him with two more rapes and two cases of child molestation later this year.

They hope to be able to charge him with Maddie’s disappearance by next Spring. Hazel is hoping to get a precise date for her trial within the next few weeks. She is convinced Brueckner is her attacker: ”I always said my attacker was a German with piercing blue eyes and a voice I would recognise immediately. When Brueckner’s name was released in connection to the Madeleine case and to the rape of the poor woman Diana , I knew it was him.”

The German has denied all the allegations against him. He is currently being detained in Oldenburg prison in northern Germany.

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