German court declines to try Madeleine McCann suspect

A German court has declined to try a convicted sex offender for a series of alleged rapes in a move that may threaten the investigation into British toddler Madeleine McCann’s mysterious disappearance in Portugal 15 years ago.

The court in Braunschweig threw out several rape and sexual offense charges against Christian Brueckner, who was formally identified last year as a suspect in another case, the mystery of 3-year-old McCann.

Brueckner – who is identified as “Christian B.” in formal documents to accommodate Germany’s strict privacy laws – is currently in prison for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman in Algarve, the same region where Madeleine was staying with her family when she vanished on May 3, 2007. 

He was additionally charged last year three counts of aggravated rape and two instances of child sexual abuse that took place in Portugal between Dec. 28, 2000 and June 11, 2017. 

On Thursday, however, the regional tribunal ruled that they could not pursue the cases because Brueckner’s last known address was in another German state, The Journal said.

As part of the ruling, the officials also revoked the urgent arrest warrant that was issued for Brueckner last fall.

In a statement to The Journal, Brueckner’s attorney, Friedrich Fuelscher, claimed that the court’s decision means it will also not be able to pursue the “‘Maddie’ case.”

A spokesperson for the court, however, declined to confirm that and stressed that the five charges were separate from the McCann investigation.

“We will continue to investigate in the Maddie case and the accused remains in prison,” prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told Reuters in an email.

Madeleine McCann was just days away from her fourth birthday when she disappeared from her family’s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz. In June 2020, Wolters speculated that the toddler had been murdered – and that Brueckner was the likely culprit.

“We don’t have the body and no parts of the body, but we have enough evidence to say our suspect killed Madeleine McCann,” he explained during a bombshell appearance on Australia’s 60 Minutes.

Brueckner has denied any knowledge of what happened to Madeleine. Last year, he claimed that he was having sex in a camper van at the time the child was abducted.

The update in Brueckner’s case also comes shortly after a DNA test disproved a Polish woman’s allegations that she was the missing tot.

Julia Faustyna, 21, made headlines earlier this year when she made social media posts claiming that she had sufficient evidence to suggest she was Madeleine.

Earlier this week, police in California seized a cell phone tied to Faustyna as the story remains in limbo.

Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, approved the DNA test but have since refused to comment on the situation.

Late last month, however, the couple was said to be “delighted” at the news that the UK’s Metropolitan Police was set to receive $370,000 to aid in the ongoing search.

“It gives fresh hope,” a source close to the case said of the cash injection.

With Post wires