Europe

German court throws out sex charges against suspect in Madeleine McCann case

Christian Brueckner has been linked to disappearance of British girl in Portugal in 2007

Christian Brueckner was identified as a suspect in the murder of Madeleine McCann by German prosecutors in June 2020. Photograph: EPA

Thu Apr 20 2023 - 13:23

A court in the German city of Braunschweig has thrown out rape and sexual offence charges against Christian Brueckner, who has been formally identified as an official suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The court’s decision means that legal authorities in Braunschweig have no jurisdiction over the case of the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three, lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher said .

German prosecutors last year said they had charged Brueckner with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children in Portugal between December 28th, 2000, and June 11th, 2017.

Confirming a report in Bild daily, Mr Fuelscher said the court in Braunschweig had decided that it had no jurisdiction in the case and had revoked the arrest warrant against Brueckner.

READ MORE

The charges were not directly linked to the McCann case, but having thrown them out and revoked the warrant, the court could no longer be expected to consider the latter case either.

Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug trader who is behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve region of Portugal from where Madeleine went missing, was formally identified as an official suspect in the McCann case last year.

Mr Fuelscher did not say when Brueckner was due to be released or whether the court decision would affect that.

German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible for it. Brueckner has denied being involved in the disappearance and has not been charged with any crime related to it.

Neither state prosecutors nor the court in Braunschweig were immediately available to comment. - Reuters

LATEST STORIES