SEHNDE – German authorities have released a man, who is a suspect in the investigation of British child Madeleine McCann’s disappearance 18 years ago, after he completed his sentence for a separate case, law enforcement officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Identified by news outlets as Christian Brückner, he served a seven-year term following his 2019 conviction for sexually assaulting a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal.
He left the prison at Sehnde, near Hannover in northern Germany, on Wednesday morning.
In June 2020, German authorities disclosed that he was being investigated for potentially murdering McCann, who went missing on May 3, 2007, from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. They stated their belief that McCann is deceased.
While police have conducted additional searches in Portugal, the suspect, who denies involvement in McCann’s case, has not been formally charged. His release doesn’t impact the ongoing investigation, and he remains a suspect in both the German probe and a separate investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police, who have not been able to interview him.
His lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, has said charges would have been filed against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.
The 48-year-old spent many years in Portugal, including in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
Authorities in the U.K., Portugal, and Germany continue to examine the events of the night when 3-year-old Madeleine vanished. She was with her 2-year-old twin siblings while their parents, Kate and Gerry, were having dinner nearby with friends.
Last year, the suspect was tried for unrelated sexual offenses reportedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, but he was acquitted in October. The judge cited insufficient evidence, unreliable testimony, and media influence on witnesses as reasons for the acquittal.
The state court in Hildesheim has said it cannot legally disclose whether he will have to fulfill any conditions after his release. But Fülscher confirmed to regional public broadcaster NDR that his client will be required to wear an electronic foot tag, report regularly to probation services and give up his passport. German weekly Der Spiegel first reported on that decision, without naming sources.
He still faces an Oct. 27 court date in Oldenburg in northwestern Germany in a case in which he is accused of insulting a prison employee. A district court in the city sentenced him to six weeks in prison for that, but the defense has appealed.
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