The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian Brückner, has been acquitted of all charges in a separate trial for aggravated rape and sexual abuse in Germany. The district court in Braunschweig found him not guilty of three counts of aggravated rape and two of sexual abuse of children, allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Brückner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a separate rape conviction and is due for release by September 2025. Following the acquittal, prosecutors have announced they will appeal the verdict, calling for a retrial. Chief prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters stated that the judgment was 'wrong in substance' and that they would seek review by the federal court of justice.
The verdict has implications for the ongoing investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance in 2007 from Praia da Luz, Portugal. Brückner was formally named as the main suspect in 2020 but has not been charged. Prosecutors maintain their belief in his involvement, citing 'concrete evidence' without disclosing details.
During the trial, Brückner's lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, said the McCann case 'hung like a fog' over proceedings. The presiding judge, Uta Engemann, criticised prosecutors for linking Brückner to the McCann case, stating that the labelling of him as a 'sex monster' had influenced witnesses, rendering their testimonies 'almost worthless'.
Prosecutors now face a race against time to charge Brückner in the McCann case before his release. Wolters said the investigation continues but no conclusion or charge is currently foreseeable.
