"German Court Acquits Madeleine McCann Suspect of Unrelated Sexual Offenses".

 

A German court has acquitted Christian Brueckner, the main suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, of unrelated sexual abuse charges. The court in Brunswick, Germany, delivered the ruling on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence to convict him. Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug trafficker, is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a woman in Portugal's Algarve region, near where McCann went missing in 2007. His sentence is set to end in September 2025.

The trial, which began in February, involved three charges of aggravated rape and two of child sexual abuse committed between 2000 and 2017. Prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence, but Brueckner's lawyer argued that he was only being tried because of his status as a suspect in the McCann case. 

Although this acquittal does not directly affect the McCann investigation, it presents a challenge for prosecutors hoping to charge Brueckner in connection with her disappearance. McCann vanished from her bedroom during a family vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. Despite widespread media attention and international appeals for information, her fate remains unknown. German authorities have suggested since 2020 that McCann is presumed dead, with Brueckner as the prime suspect, but no formal charges have been filed.

Prosecutor Christian Wolters expressed disappointment with the verdict and indicated plans to appeal, while also exploring the possibility of securing a new arrest warrant for Brueckner before his potential release. However, he acknowledged that the evidence in the McCann case may still fall short for an arrest.