Christian Brueckner : Madeleine McCann Suspect Faces Trial on Sex Assault Charges

This undated handout image supplied by the Carabinieri Milano shows a police mug shot of Christian Brueckner.
Photo: Getty Images / Italian police

The primary suspect in the high-profile 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann is set to go on trial in Germany on Friday. Christian Brueckner, currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a woman in Portugal’s Algarve region, faces charges related to child sexual abuse crimes committed in Portugal from 2000 to 2017.

Brueckner will be tried in the courtroom in Brunswick, northern Germany, where he faces three charges of aggravated rape and two charges of sexual abuse of children. These charges include the rape of a woman in her 70s in her Algarve home, the sexual abuse of a girl aged at least 14, and the 2004 rape of a young woman at knifepoint, which he is alleged to have recorded.

Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3 May, 2007.
Photo: Handout / Metropolitan Police / AFP

Currently, Brueckner has not entered a plea, and his legal team has refrained from making any public comments regarding the charges. This trial is separate from the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, for which Brueckner has not been charged with any crimes.

In a parallel investigation, Portuguese prosecutors identified Brueckner as an official suspect in the case of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance two years ago. Furthermore, German police announced in June 2020 that they considered McCann to be presumed dead and believed that Brueckner was responsible.

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann occurred on 3 May 2007 while her family was on a holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal. She vanished from her bedroom while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort.

– This story was originally published by Reuters