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Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner CLEARED over string of rapes – and could walk free in WEEKS
German prosecutors insist that Brueckner is the one who snatched Maddie
MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has today been sensationally cleared of a string of rapes - meaning he could be freed in just weeks.
Brueckner stood emotionless as the verdicts were read out - staring blankly ahead.
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The paedophile - who is suspected of snatching three-year-old Maddie in 2007 - had been on trial in Germany for horrific sex attacks.
But the not guilty decision represents a possible blow to the McCann case.
It means a seven-year sentence from 2019 is now all that is keeping Brueckner behind bars.
Brueckner was today found not guilty of two counts of rape and two counts of indecent exposure.
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Panicked prosecutors are already planning to mount an appeal in a bid to keep the monster behind bars.
But without a retrial - or charges finally being brought over Maddie - rapist Brueckner could be back on the streets on day release within just weeks.
Worryingly, the trial has also seen the credibility of key witnesses from the McCann case shot down in court by Brueckner’s lawyers, in a further blow.
However, Maddie cops have said the verdict will not impact their investigation into the snatched three-year-old.
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Brueckner has never been charged in connection with the Maddie case.
Judge Ute Engemann handed down the verdict at Braunschweig Regional Court.
Chilling question about ‘children’s bones’ Madeleine McCann suspect ‘asked cellmate after admitting snatching kid’
Engemann said: “On this case I announce a full acquittal.”
The judge told the court key witness Helge B - who linked Brueckner to Maddie - had been “inconsistent” with his accounts in court.
She said they had not matched the statements he had given police.
Helge had told the court he was convinced that his former drifter pal snatched the British tot.
He committed crimes with the convicted rapist while the two lived in Portugal in the early 2000s.
And then he came forward in 2020 to claim Brueckner had taken Madeleine.
Helge claimed he had found horrific videos in Brueckner's lair showing him raping an elderly woman and a girl as young as 13.
At the time, he did not report his findings to cops.
What is next for Brueckner and the McCann case?
BY Rob Pattinson, Senior District Reporter
Paedophile Christian Brueckner, 47, was sensationally cleared of a string of rape and child abuse allegations in court - putting him on the path to freedom.
Brueckner remains in prison due to a 2019 conviction for rape although The Sun understands that runs out next September.
If he settles an outstanding £1,000 fine he will be released then.
It means under German law he could be back on the streets on day release within just weeks or months, despite a psychiatrist rating him as “top league of dangerousness”.
The investigators working on the acquitted allegations are the same people trying to crack the Madeleine McCann case.
German officials are desperate to keep the man behind bars with investigators still labelling Brueckner as the prime suspect in McCann's disappearance.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told The Sun "the clock is ticking".
With German journalist Jutta Rabe also saying the prosecution must speed up their investigations around Maddie to keep him locked up.
Those working to link Brueckner to the infamous case are now left with just two options as time continues to run out.
They can appeal the case which saw him acquitted of several allegations of rape and sexual crimes which is unrelated to McCann's.
This will likely see them go directly to the Supreme Court - Germany's highest court - to file the appeal.
Jutta believes the prosecutors will appeal the decision due to the judge's strict outlook over the minor discrepancies.
She says they will say the trial did not apply the correct rules per German legal practice rather than directly appeal the verdict.
If the Supreme Court agrees then a complete retrial will be called with the witnesses reexamined at a different court.
This will keep Brueckner in jail on a fresh arrest warrant.
Or they can begin proceedings against him in regards to McCann and officially name the accusations they believe will result in him being found guilty following a trial.
This will see a two decade hunt finally made public will all the files of evidence opened up.
Some witnesses from the first trial will be called up once again as well as some new and unheard from people who will testify against Brueckner.
Prosecutors can go ahead with this at any moment due to the sheer body of work they have built up overtime.
For the first time people will hear what prosecutors believe actually happened to Maddie in the Algarve all those years ago should it go to a trial.
If charges are officially made against Brueckner then he will have an arrest warrant placed on him and meaning he stays behind bars.
Even though Brueckner was acquitted for a multitude of charges Jutta still says it has provided a huge opportunity for prosecutors.
And has helped them get closer to finally getting justice for the McCann family after all these years.
The judge also said Irish holiday rep Hazel Behan - one of Brueckner's alleged victims - had contradicted herself in court with her account of how the suspect attacked her.
Behan came forward after she recognised him in photos after he was linked to Maddie's disappearance.
The judge added: "The media had reported already about Madeleine McCann and this influenced the witnesses.
“In that case it was not possible to convict the defendant for objective reasons.”
She said the witnesses had not been persuasive and had failed to remember all details.
A third count of rape had already been discontinued earlier in the trial.
Prosecutors have been preparing an appeal since July when a judge lifted the arrest warrant for Brueckner on the case - citing growing belief he may not be guilty.
Investigators are said to be furious with the way the court has approached the case and will ask Germany’s supreme court to send it for a retrial.
Without a new warrant - or Maddie or further charges being brought against him - he could be free from next September, in less than a year.
In all likelihood, Brueckner could be back on the streets before then as part of a day-release programme to prepare him for freedom.
This is despite psychiatrists rating him in the "top league of dangerousness" and prosecutors asking for a preventative detention order, had he been convicted.
During the trial Brueckner was accused of breaking into a groundfloor flat in Portugal - like the McCann’s - to abuse Behan.
The defence claimed Hazel could not have known her attacker was Brueckner, as he was wearing a mask.
They claimed she wrongly identified him after seeing Maddie coverage.
Brueckner was also cleared of raping a woman aged up to 80.
He was also cleared of two counts of indecent exposure relating to children.
The defence argued none of the witnesses could be relied upon.
Christian Brueckner was charged with one count of rape, one count of rape and sex assault, one count of child molestation and indecent exposure and one count of public exhibitionism and indecency.
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He was also charged with insulting behaviour and threats towards a prison guard.
The defendant denied all the charges against him.
Madeleine McCann's disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 - and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates
May 3, 2007 - Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 - Property developer Robert Murat is named an "arguido" or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 - The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual - a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 - Kate and Gerry McCann are made "arguidos"
September 9, 2007- Madeleine's parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007- Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 - Portuguese police lift the "arguido" status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 - On Madeleine's eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 - Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 - Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance
October 24, 2013- Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 - Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 - Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine's disappearance
March 11, 2017 - The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 - British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 - Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 - Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 - An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 - More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 - UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 - Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 - Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 - New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 - Brueckner formally made an "arguido"
May 2023 - Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his "little paradise"
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