Madeleine McCann suspects Christian Brueckner will appear in court as his unrelated sexual assault trial finally begins in Germany

The man German prosecutors say is responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has appeared in court to stand trial on a slew of sexual abuse charges.

Christian Brueckner was pictured pulling up in a prison van outside the courtroom in Brunswick, Lower Saxony, just after 8am local time this morning, wearing a dark green hooded sweater.

His beady blue eyes could be seen peering into the vehicle's windows between the bars before he was dragged outside and marched past a screaming crowd of about 40 journalists toward the courthouse.

Armed police stood guard outside as the 100 or so members of the public queuing to enter the building were led through airport-style security checks.

It is the first time the convicted sex offender has been seen in public since 2020, when he climbed into an ambulance for treatment after being attacked in prison.

The 47-year-old is accused of three rapes and two indecent assaults in cases involving five women and girls aged between 10 and 80. The allegations, which the convicted sex offender brazenly told MailOnline, were 'ridiculous'.

A total of 29 days are planned for the trial, during which more than 40 witnesses will take the stand, and a verdict is expected to be delivered in June.

If found guilty of all charges, Brueckner will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

But officials hope that by securing a conviction on the charges, Brueckner will offer information about Madeleine in exchange for a milder sentence – although sources close to him say he will remain silent and not testify.

Brueckner is already serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in the Algarve in 2005 and was jailed in 2019 following testimony from two former friends who will also testify at his retrial.

Brueckner, 47, was sensationally named by German police in June 2020 as the man responsible for the kidnap and murder of Madeleine while she was on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann.

The then three-year-old boy from Rothley, Leicestershire, was abducted from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Portuguese Algarve coast in May 2007 and has not been seen or heard from since.

Brueckner – who lived in the area at the time – has previously denied any involvement in her abduction and murder to MailOnline.

The charges he faces in court today are not related to the Madeleine case.

He insists that DNA and electronic evidence against him is false and that witnesses are lying about him.

Prosecutors also face a dilemma as two of the rape victims have not been identified, but the third victim is known: Irish tour guide Hazel Behan, who says she was attacked in 2004 while working in the Algarve.

She says she was threatened with a knife, tied up and subjected to an hours-long attack by a man she later recognized as Brueckner after his photo was released by German police in 2020.

At the time, she was a 20-year-old sales representative and the now married mother of three will be one of the key witnesses to testify at the trial, which will last until June.

The other two rapes involved an unknown woman between 70 and 80 years old and an unknown girl around 14 years old.

The fourth charge concerns an indecent assault against a 10-year-old girl on a beach close to where Madeleine disappeared a month later, and the latest is also an indecent assault against another child in the Algarve at a playground in 2017 .

Commenting on the case before the trial, Brueckner, who denies the charges, said in a mocking tone: “I hope (they) will soon find answers to (their) questions.”

MailOnline understands that Brueckner had been transferred from Oldenburg prison in northern Germany, where he was serving his seven-year sentence, to Schnedebruch near Hanover for the duration of the trial.

He was also moved after complaining of abuse by guards in Oldenburg, where he was in a secure, isolated unit.

Bruecker told MailOnline: 'My situation didn't change at all. I just moved the prison. I am still totally isolated. Since (sic) more than two years now.

“I'm still not allowed to talk to anyone other than my lawyer and my punishment (guards).”

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Brueckner's lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said he was “aiming for a complete acquittal” on all charges.

He said: 'The hope is for a fair trial, but my client has been attacked in the media. He will not say anything during the hearing other than his name, but nothing should be inferred from that.

'What needs to be made clear is that these charges have nothing to do with Madeleine McCann and now, almost four years after he was named as a suspect, no update has been received from prosecutors.

'He has not been charged with anything in connection with the McCann investigation and I have not even been given access to the files in that case and I have no idea what the evidence against him is.

'Only the Public Prosecution Service thinks it has the right person.'

As part of his defense team, Mr Fulscher has brought in three other export people, including Philipp Marquort, an expert in IT forensics who will be used to help Brueckner with mobile and computer data.

Others on his team include Atilla Aykac, an expert in cross-examination, and who recently filed to have a case dismissed after revealing during a trial that a judge was having an affair.

Mr Fulscher warned: 'Some prosecution witnesses will have to be prepared for some unpleasant questions.'

The final member of the team is law professor Dennis Bock, who was described by Mr Fulscher as 'simply legally brilliant'.

The witnesses include Brueckner's former friends and ex-girlfriends, and Hazel's ex-boyfriend will also testify.