Alarm in Germany as 'dangerous' Maddie suspect set to walk

German law enforcement authorities have voiced alarm that the "dangerous" chief suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann will soon leave prison and could flee the country.

Prosecutors believe Christian Brueckner, 48, killed the three-year-old girl in a Portuguese resort in a missing persons case that has captivated the world and remains unsolved. 

But lacking sufficient evidence to lay charges, they are helpless as Brueckner -- who has a history of violent sex crimes -- is due to be released from a German prison by September 17.

Brueckner has denied any involvement in the Maddie case. His defence lawyer this week did not reply when contacted by AFP. 

The chief prosecutor in the case, Christian Wolters, told AFP that he believes the man who German authorities refer to as Christian B. remains "fundamentally dangerous".

A psychiatric expert who assessed him recently concluded that "further sexual offences are to be expected".

"He has not undergone any therapy or similar treatment in prison, which means that, from our point of view, we must assume that he will reoffend," Wolters said.

Prosecutors have applied for conditions on Brueckner's release, such as wearing an ankle tag and informing them where he lives.

But even if these are granted, he will be "basically a free man", Wolters said.

"I assume that he will leave Germany. Because of all the media hype, so that he doesn't have to face it all the time."

- Global manhunt -

Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.

Despite a huge international manhunt, multiple trails that went cold and years of global media attention, no trace of her has been found.

German prosecutors in a bombshell announcement in 2020 named Brueckner, who is known to have frequently visited the area at the time, as their top suspect.

They have said they have unspecified "concrete evidence" -- but also that it would not be enough to secure a conviction, and have therefore refrained from charging him over Maddie's killing.

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Brueckner is currently serving a sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the same region of Portugal where Maddie went missing.

He was additionally charged in October 2022 with five separate counts of rape and child sex abuse allegedly committed in the area between 2000 and 2017.

However, he was acquitted of those charges earlier this year.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig, where Brueckner was tried on the 2022 charges, have applied for a retrial in a different court. However, a decision is not expected before next year.

- 'No alibi' -

"We just hope that if we need him again, we'll be able to get him," Wolters said.

"We have requested that he inform the court in advance if he wants to go abroad... But of course, in principle, you cannot forbid a free person from travelling from one country to another."

The prosecutor added that the investigation into the McCann case was ongoing.

Prosecutors "have not yet evaluated everything" found during a new search in the Praia da Luz region in June, and there are also still "other lines of inquiry".

There is still a possibility that charges will be brought, Wolters said, "but I can't say how likely or unlikely that is".

"I can only say that in the last five years of investigation, we have found nothing that would in any way refute the suspicion against Christian B.," he said.

"That means we have not found any exonerating evidence, no alibi, no indications that he could not have been at this location.

"For us, Christian B. is responsible for Madeleine's death, and he is the only one responsible."

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