Christian B trial: Madeleine McCann suspect ‘seen on videos sexually assaulting woman and girl’, court hears
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was seen on videos allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, and a girl who was tied up, a court has heard.
Christian B, whose last name is withheld due to privacy laws, is standing trial in Germany accused of three counts of rape and two counts of child sexual abuse.
The prosecution claims the offences took place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The allegations do not relate to the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine in 2007.
On day three of the trial, Braunschweig state court heard from key witness Manfred Seyferth, who claimed he once discovered videos of Christian B sexually assaulting two females.
Seyferth, 68, said he first met Christian B, now 47, when he had run out of fuel while travelling through Portugal years ago.
Christian B drove Seyferth’s friend, Michael, to and from a petrol station, and they then spent a few days together at Christan B’s house, the court heard.
Seyferth said that when Christian B was later jailed for stealing diesel, he went to his house with another friend, Helge Busching, with the intention of stealing fuel.
However, according to the witness, most of the diesel was gone – but they allegedly found items including a pistol and video camera.
Seyferth told the court that footage on the camera showed an older woman and a young girl, who was tied to a pillar in his house, being abused. He said he and Busching watched them for around two to three minutes.
Seyferth said he could not recall which year this allegedly happened.
Pic: AP
He estimated the older woman’s age to be around 60 and could not remember details about her appearance. However, he recognised Christian B from his voice, he said.
In the second video, Christian B was with a young girl – who Seyferth estimated to be around 16 years old – and forced her to perform a sex act on him, according to the witness. The girl is alleged to have vomited afterwards.
Seyferth said he told Busching to throw the camera away but, unknown to him, his friend kept it.
Busching later called Scotland Yard and German authorities quizzed Seyferth for three days in Athens, the court heard.
Madeleine McCann. Pic: PA
During extensive questioning by the judge and the defendant’s lawyer, Seyferth repeatedly claimed to not remember crucial details. His testimony also diverged from statements given at a trial in 2019, which saw Christian B be convicted of rape.
As the court session went on, defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher asked the witness: “Do you suffer from Alzheimer’s, or other diseases that affect memory?”
During the hearing, Christian B sat impassively, his face showing no emotion. He wore the same rumpled blue suit jacket with elbow patches that he had worn since the trial commenced three weeks earlier.
Christian B’s lawyer said the defendant “is using his right to remain silent”.
He said he expects his client to be acquitted, dismissing the evidence as “abysmal”.
There are no formal pleas in the German legal system, and defendants are not obliged to respond to the charges.
Madeleine McCann was three years old when she vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz, after they left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends.
Christian B has not been charged in the Madeleine case and denies involvement, but has been under investigation for the last few years.
He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security
Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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