Individual Connected to British Toddler's Vanishing Walks Free After Sentence for Different Crime
A man from Germany, who has been linked to the mysterious disappearance of a young British girl nearly two decades ago, has been released from prison. His imprisonment was due to an entirely different case. A group of police vans and a car were spotted leaving a prison in the northern part of Germany, near the city of Hannover, signifying the man's release.
This man's name has been widely reported as Christian Brückner, and he was serving a seven-year term for sexually assaulting a 72-year-old woman from the United States in Portugal. His release from prison does not indicate any changes in the ongoing investigation concerning the British girl's disappearance.
Continuous Investigation
In the middle of 2020, it was announced that the man was under investigation for suspicion of murder in relation to the vanishing of Madeleine McCann. McCann went missing on May 3, 2007, from a holiday apartment complex in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz. The authorities have concluded that it's likely the girl is no longer alive.
Since then, police have conducted additional investigations in Portugal, although no charges have been filed against the man, who has fervently denied any involvement in McCann's disappearance. His release does not affect the ongoing investigation.
He is also a person of interest in another investigation into McCann's vanishing which is being conducted by the Metropolitan Police based in the UK. They have stated that the man has declined their request for a conversation. His attorney, Friedrich Fülscher, argues that if there was enough evidence against his client, charges would have been filed a long time ago.
Other Details
The man, who is 48 years old, spent a significant part of his life in Portugal, including time at the resort where McCann disappeared. The exact events of the night when Madeleine, then just three years old, vanished, are still being pieced together by investigators from the UK, Portugal, and Germany. She was in the same room as her two-year-old twin siblings when she went missing. Their parents were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant at the time.
Last year, the man was brought to trial for several unrelated sexual offenses allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. He was cleared of these charges in October. The judge ruled that the evidence was not strong enough for a conviction, and some of the witnesses were deemed unreliable. Some witnesses were believed to have been influenced by media coverage of the defendant.
Post-Release Conditions
There is no legal requirement for the court to disclose whether the man must fulfill any post-release conditions. However, his attorney confirmed that he would be required to wear an electronic monitoring device, report to probation services regularly, and surrender his passport.
In addition, he faces another court date on October 27 in the city of Oldenburg, located in northwestern Germany. This is for a case where he is accused of insulting a prison employee. He was previously given a six-week prison sentence for this, but his defense team has appealed the decision.