Christian Bruckner, the main suspect in the disappearance of British child Madeleine McCann, was acquitted on Tuesday of rape and sexual assault in a separate trial in a German court.
Bruckner, 47, was charged with three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual assault against children between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal.
The local court in Braunschweig, northern Germany, ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict Bruckner. Judge Uta Engemann said some witness testimony throughout the trial was unreliable.
Bruckner, a German citizen, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2005 in the Algarve, Portugal, the same area where Madeleine disappeared two years later. He was convicted in 2019.
Reuters reported that he may be released from prison next year.
In 2022, Portuguese police designated Bruckner as an official suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, although he was never formally charged. German investigators declared Bruckner a suspect two years ago.
He denied any involvement in the child’s disappearance.
Christian Bruckner stands next to his lawyer Friedrich Voelscher before the verdict in his trial for five sex crimes in the courtroom of the Braunschweig District Court, northern Germany, on October 8, 2024.
Michael Mathie/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Engman said Bruckner’s designation as a suspect in Madeleine’s case affected the trial, CBS News reported.
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“It became clear during the proceedings that Prejudice by the media “She played an important role in shaping public perceptions and influencing witnesses,” she said when announcing Bruckner’s acquittal. “The court’s ruling may be disappointing for participants, but that is the way things work in the constitutional system.”
Madeleine, then three years old, disappeared from a hotel room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while on vacation with her family in May 2007. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were dining with friends at a nearby tapas bar, leaving Madeleine and her two brothers asleep. In their bedroom the evening she disappeared.
Her disappearance launched a cross-country investigation and led to an international media frenzy. Publicity for the case only increased when Jerry and Kate were named as official suspects, or “arguidos” in Portuguese. The parents were questioned by police, who at the time believed they may have carried out the kidnapping.
Gerry and Kate were cleared of suspicion in 2008. Portuguese police have since apologized to the parents for the way the family was treated during the investigation.
Madeleine’s case was investigated jointly by Portuguese, British and German authorities.
It was never found.
In June 2020, German police said Madeleine had died. British authorities continue to treat her disappearance as a missing person’s case.
Prosecutors in Bruckner’s recent trial said they intended to do so Appealing the acquittal Judgment. There is no legal connection between Bruckner’s recent trial and Madeleine’s disappearance.
The BBC reported that some of the witnesses who gave what was considered unreliable testimony were also potential witnesses in Madeleine’s case. District Attorney Christian Wolters said the new ruling would have no impact on the investigation.
“The ruling has no direct impact on Maddie’s (McCann) case because the findings of this court are not binding,” he said, adding that he would explore the possibility of obtaining a new arrest warrant before Bruckner is released.
“But I can’t say whether the evidence in Maddie’s case will be enough to issue an arrest warrant.”
— With files from Reuters
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