CHRISTIAN Brueckner was allowed to walk free from prison today – but what next for the Madeleine McCann prime suspect?
The convicted paedophile, 48, hid his face behind a blanket as he was given a police escort to a safe house in Germany where he will have to abide to a strict set of rules as part of his release.
Dan CharityChristian Brueckner has been freed from prison in Germany today[/caption]
Dan CharityA police convoy took Bruckner to a safe house after his release[/caption]
Dan CharityThe convicted paedophile covered his face with a blanket as his car sped past reporters[/caption]
HandoutBrueckner remains the only suspect for investigators in the disappearance of Brit toddler Maddie[/caption]
Brueckner remains the only suspect for investigators in the disappearance of Brit toddler Maddie.
And his dark criminal past means he continues to be viewed as a potential danger to society by prosecutors.
One even warned ahead of his release that the public has “to expect him to commit further crimes”.
In order to keep tracks of Brueckner he has been fitted with an electronic tag.
He will have to wear it at all times so police can keep an eye on his movements.
The device will be geo-fenced to three-miles around his new permanent home.
This means cops will be alerted instantly if he steps outside the zone without permission.
Brueckner will also be forced to surrender his passport and will be given a new government-issued ID card.
Cops believe this will help to limit his movements outside of Germany should the suspect ever try to run.
But flight fears are still lingering for prosecutors who are yet to have enough evidence to charge Brueckner with a crime relating to Maddie.
His ankle tag will stop working the moment the sex offender exits German borders.
Investigators also worry Brueckner could flee Germany despite his conditions due to him not needing a passport to move freely within mainland Europe.
The other details around police surveillance of Brueckner’s movements remains unclear.
But the monitoring is expected to remain in place until his next scheduled court appearance in October.
These will be over claims he verbally abused a prisoner governor while inside.
Over in Britain, Metropolitan Police detectives are still fighting to find justice for the McCann family after 18 long years.
They had filed a bid to allow them to interview Brueckner and try to finally crack the case.
Brueckner’s dark past
CHRISTIAN Brueckner’s criminal record spans decades.
He was jailed in 1994 for sexually abusing children, convicted again of child sex abuse in 2016, and was living in Portugal at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
He was later convicted of raping the American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005 – just yards from the McCann holiday complex – but was cleared last year in a separate rape and sexual abuse case.
A Sun investigation this year — aired on Channel 4 — revealed bombshell new evidence, including his obsession with snatching blonde girls.
But prosecutors are adamant he remains their focus.
Wolters has previously said: “There is no one else. He is the only suspect.”
As part of their bid, Met detectives also applied to German investigators for formal legal assistance.
The status would give them access to all German files and witnesses amid apparent new interest from UK detectives in the case.
It follows claims from Germany that British intervention could be crucial to any hopes of keeping the case going.
Brueckner is believed to have turned down any interview request.
Why has Brueckner been freed?
The fiend was released from a German jail after serving time for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal.
Today marks the date his seven-year sentence for rape expires – allowing him to walk out of prison and re-enter society.
Brueckner, a drifter with a long history of sex offences against women and children, remains the only suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Despite spending years investigating Brueckner, German lead prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has admitted his team still doesn’t have enough evidence to bring charges over her disappearance.
EPACops had to wrestle away journalists as Brueckner drove away[/caption]
GettyJournalists gathered outside Brueckner’s jail waiting for him to exit[/caption]
AFPPolice officers entering the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover where Brueckner had been serving his sentence[/caption]
He previously told reporters: “He is not just our number one suspect, he’s our only suspect.
“We have evidence against him but in our view it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely.”
Brueckner officially left the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover just after 9:15am German time, this morning.
The rapist was given breakfast before being driven away in his lawyer’s black Audi A6.
A chilling image showed Brueckner wearing a red and white striped shirt as he sat in the rear seat with his hand up in the air.
He covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters.
Brueckner has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
His release comes as a bitter blow to Madeleine’s devastated parents – Kate and Gerry McCann – who have endured 18 years of anguish searching for answers.
The Brit tot was only three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
The parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant on the night their daughter vanished, returning at 10pm to find her gone while her twin siblings slept.
The McCann case quickly became one of the biggest missing persons investigations in history and has seen multiple suspects let go and dead ends found.
Dan CharityThe rapist was given breakfast before being driven away in his lawyer’s black Audi A6[/caption]
Dan CharityHe covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters[/caption]
This week, a new lead has emerged after a notorious network of paedophiles linked to a serial child-killer were feared to have ordered Maddie’s kidnapping.
A former top Belgian official, who led the inquiry into the murderer and child-molester Marc Dutroux, says a gang of traffickers could be connected to her disappearance.
Three days before the girl was snatched in 2007, Belgian cops had issued an alert to European police forces over intelligence that a paedophile gang had ordered a small child to be snatched.
It comes as a Sun investigation — aired on Channel 4 earlier this year — revealed the existence of a hard drive and laptop containing images from Portugal, closely linked to the belief held by cops that Madeleine is in fact dead.
TIMELINE OF THE MADDY CASE
HERE’S a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
June 1, 2025
Police order a renewed search for clues in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal.
It lasts for just three days.
September 17, 2025
Christian Brueckner released from jail after serving sentence for rape and allowed to walk free.
AFPAn aerial shot of the jail where the convicted paedophile had been caged[/caption]
AFPProsecutors deem Brueckner dangerous and fear he may commit further crimes[/caption]