Madeleine McCann suspect winks in court as he's accused of rape and exposing himself to children

MADELEINE McCann abduction suspect Christian Brueckner winked in court as details of his alleged sex crimes were detailed for the first time.

- Martin Fricker

The convicted paedophile, 47, stands accused of raping three women and exposing himself to two children in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

One of the alleged crimes came just weeks before three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her parents' Algarve holiday apartment in 2007.

Brueckner's lawyer complained his client was being persecuted by the media over his alleged links to the British youngster's disappearance.

In his opening statement, Friedrich Fulscher said the German was under "worldwide media fire" over claims he "allegedly abducted and murdered Madeleine Beth McCann".

His long-awaited trial finally got under way at Braunschweig Regional Court yesterday following a last-minute adjournment last week.

Brueckner, wearing a grey jacket, white shirt and khaki trousers, was led into court shortly after 9am.