Christian Brueckner, linked to the Madeleine McCann case, has been acquitted of rape charges but remains in prison for a previous crime in Germany.
A German court has found Christian Brueckner not guilty of several sexual offences. Brueckner, who is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, was acquitted of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual abuse on Tuesday.
The trial took place in Braunschweig state court, where Brueckner was accused of committing these crimes in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. His lawyers said there wasn’t enough evidence, and some witnesses could not be trusted. They also suggested Brueckner might not have been charged if he wasn’t linked to the McCann case.
Even though he was found not guilty, Brueckner will stay in prison for at least another year. He is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a different crime. In 2019, the same court found him guilty of raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.
Prosecutors had asked for a 15-year prison sentence in the latest case and wanted Brueckner to stay in detention after serving his sentence. They can still appeal the court’s decision.
Although Brueckner hasn’t been charged in the McCann case, he is still under investigation. Madeleine McCann was only three years old when she went missing from her family’s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. Brueckner lived near the area around that time, but he has always denied being involved in her disappearance.
Brueckner’s case is being handled by the Braunschweig state court because it is the last place he lived in Germany before moving abroad.
For now, Brueckner will continue serving his sentence for the earlier crime, while the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case continues. This case remains one of the most talked-about missing person mysteries in recent history.
