…Researched and contributed by Jack Sylva.
Suspect Christian Brueckner has had rape charges against him thrown out by a German court, along with sexual offence charges, related to the case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann.
Brueckner, who is a convicted paedophile, was identified as a suspect in the case of McCann’s disappearance.
However, the court has since ruled that Brueckner cannot be considered a suspect in the investigation of the child’s disappearance.
Although the court did not directly link Brueckner to the McCann case, he was charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children in Portugal, which came between December 2000 and June 2017.
The court decided it no longer had jurisdiction over the case, thereby preventing further investigations into the disappearance of McCann.
Friedrich Fuelscher, a lawyer, said legal authorities had been informed that they lacked official power to proceed with the case.
Although Brueckner was identified as a suspect, he will no longer be part of the proceedings after denying involvement in the disappearance.
In June 2020, German police announced their belief that the missing child was presumed dead, adding that Brueckner was responsible for it.
The arrest warrant has been lifted after Brueckner proved he had a residency, following the previous address in the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 3, 2007, when she disappeared while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, a resort in Portugal.
The McCanns have never given up hope of finding their daughter alive.
In light of the recent development, it remains unclear whether new leads in the investigation will emerge or whether the case will be closed permanently.