Madeleine McCann case suspect Christian Brueckner 'will walk free in September’

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner will be freed as there is “no prospect of an indictment”, a German prosecutor said yesterday.

Convicted paedophile and rapist Brueckner, 47, is likely to be released this year from an unrelated jail sentence as police search for evidence against him in the Maddie case.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told Sky News: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.

‘”As things stand, the accused Christian [Brueckner’s] imprisonment will end in early September.”

Maddie was aged three when she disappeared from the Portuguese villa her family were staying at in Praia da Luz in May 2007.

Brueckner, who was convicted for a rape in the same resort, became the prime suspect for Maddie’s “abduction and murder” in June 2020.

Brueckner has denied any involvement in her disappearance, but German officials insist “he is the man” though charges were never brought.

Philipp Marquort, Brueckner’s defence lawyer, said: “This [statement] confirms... there is no reliable evidence against our client.

“We regret that we have not yet been granted access to the investigation files. We have not yet been able to effectively counter the public prejudice arising from statements made by the prosecutor’s office.”

The convicted rapist is currently nearing the end of this jail sentence for raping an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine disappeared.

In October, he was acquitted from three rapes and two child sex abuse cases following a non-jury trial in Germany.

Upon delivering the ruling, Judge Engemann made a lengthy statement explaining why Brueckner was acquitted and slammed German prosecutors for naming him in relation to the Madeline McCann saga.

“We as judges have sworn an oath, and it is to serve the truth only. We take this very seriously but we cannot wrap people in cotton wool.

“This oath means that we don’t have to cater to the views of the media, the defence and the prosecution, or the table of regulars-in-a-pub.”

She went on: “Everyone had heard about (Brueckner) in the Maddie McCann case and they all knew that Brueckner since 2020 was always named by the public prosecution office.

“When in the media, a person is here described as a sex monster and a pervert, then it influences the witness. When massive third-party suggestions are made in this way, then the testimonies in court are almost worthless for the legal chamber.”

© Daily Mail