The prime suspect linked to the abduction of Madeleine McCann will no longer be under police surveillance after being taken off the “high-risk” list.
German authorities have been keeping close tabs on Christian Brueckner due to his suspected involvement in the British toddler’s 2007 disappearance in Portugal.
In September last year, Brueckner was released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in part of Portugal’s Algarve region, where Madeleine vanished.
Since his release, the 49-year-old, who has not been charged with the toddler’s abduction and denies any involvement, has been living between homeless shelters, motels and German taxpayer-funded accommodation.
His movements have been closely watched by police after a court-appointed expert deemed him to be at high-risk of committing further offences.
But this week, following fresh expert assessment, a court ruled he should no longer be considered a substantial risk.
Officers had launched an appeal to extend their surveillance activities on Brueckner, but a regional court in Kiel rejected this call on Friday.
However, it was ruled other measures, including the requirement for the sex offender to wear an ankle monitoring device, could stay in place.
Responding to the ruling, Kiel police vowed to “continue to closely monitor Christian B within the scope of existing legal possibilities”.
Brueckner was first declared the prime suspect behind Madeleine’s disappearance by German prosecutors in 2020 while he was serving his prison sentence.
At the time, they said they had “concrete evidence” Brueckner had been involved – yet not enough to secure a conviction against him.
The German national has a long criminal history, having been previously convicted for child sex abuse, rape, theft and drug offences.
In July, police launched an investigation into him following allegations he had attacked officers outside a supermarket in Kiel.
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The convict allegedly became embroiled in the altercation after taking photos of police officers, according to Der Spiegel.
The previous month, Scotland Yard received crucial files relating to Brueckner from German police, which is said to have contained significant evidence concerning him.
“These developments are huge – it shows the Met’s interest in Brueckner is real. They are after him – like the Germans,” a source told The Sun.
The dossier is understood to contain material relating to a hard drive discovered with image files from Portugal dating to the period when Madeleine vanished.
In May, it was revealed Scotland Yard were seeking to bring him to Britain to stand trial over the child’s abduction and murder.
Brueckner was living a mile away from the Praia da Luz hotel where the three-year-old went missing in May 2007.
Her disappearance is still being investigated by the Met as a missing persons case, but a small group of specialist detectives have been building the case for the Crown Prosecution Service for suspected abduction and murder.
At the time, a Met spokesman told GB News: “The Met’s investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been active since 2011.
“A dedicated team continues to examine the events of the evening of 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz, while supporting and updating Madeleine’s family.
“As part of ongoing enquiries, we remain in close working discussion with policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal.
“We will continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.”
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