Main suspect in Madeleine McCann case released from prison in Germany after serving sentence for raping 72-year-old woman

The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was released on Wednesday, after German authorities admitted they ‘no longer have legal grounds to keep him in custody’ for the rape of an elderly woman. Christian Brückner, 48, walked out of prison in Sehnde, northern Germany, after serving a seven-year sentence for raping an American woman, then 72, in Portugal in 2005.
The rape took place in Praia da Luz, a holiday resort on the southern coast of Portugal, where Madeleine, then 3 years old, vanished 18 months later. Despite being the prime suspect, Brückner, a German citizen, has not been charged in the McCann case due to lack of evidence, according to prosecutors. British police, however, still consider him a suspect in their investigation.
According to CNN, his lawyer Friedrich Fülscher stated that charges would have been brought against his client ‘a long time ago if there was sufficient evidence.’ The Guardian reported that Brückner will have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, surrender his passport, and provide a permanent address from which he cannot leave without permission.
Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, while vacationing with her family in Praia da Luz. Despite a massive international search operation and thorough investigation of numerous leads, no trace of the girl has been found, and no one has been charged in connection with her disappearance to this day. German police have even declared that Madeleine is likely deceased.
In a surprising announcement in 2020, German prosecutors named Brückner as their main suspect after confirming he had intermittently lived in the area at that time. ‘Fundamentally dangerous’
However, the lack of concrete evidence prevented German authorities from indicting Brückner, who denies the allegations, for the girl’s disappearance. Chief prosecutor Christian Wolters told AFP he believes Brückner remains ‘fundamentally dangerous.’ A psychiatric expert who recently evaluated him concluded that ‘further sexual crimes are to be expected.’
Last October, Brückner was cleared by a court in Braunschweig, northern Germany, of several sexual crimes allegedly committed between 2000 and 2017. In June this year, police conducted a search operation in an area covered with vegetation and abandoned properties in Portugal, near where Brückner lived at the time of McCann’s disappearance, but so far, no announcement has been made regarding potential evidence.