Primary Suspect In Madeleine McCann’s 2007 Disappearance to Be Released From Prison This Month: Report

The lead suspect in the 2007 disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann is expected to be released from a German prison within a month, according to a new report.

The BBC reported Friday that convicted rapist Christian Brueckner, long considered the primary suspect in the British toddler’s disappearance, is slated for release from a German jail by Sept. 17. The report cited confirmation from the lead prosecutor overseeing the investigation into McCann’s disappearance, who emphasized that the 48-year-old German man remains “not just our number one suspect, he’s the only suspect” in the case.

“There is no-one else,” Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office Hans Christian Wolters told the BBC. “We have evidence which speaks against [Brueckner], which indicates that he is responsible for the disappearance and the death of Madeleine McCann.”

The prosecutor added: “We haven’t found anything in the last five years that exonerates [Brueckner]. We found evidence that strengthens our case. But in our view it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely, and that’s why so far we couldn’t charge him or apply for an arrest warrant.”

PEOPLE reported in late June that Brueckner could be released from prison this year after an anonymous individual paid an outstanding fine connected to past charges of forgery and bodily harm. The benefactor’s identity was not disclosed, but the German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the individual was a former employee of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.

Brueckner has never been charged in connection with McCann’s disappearance, but he was formally named as the investigation’s primary suspect in April 2022.

Brueckner received a seven-year sentence in December 2019 for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005, PEOPLE previously reported. While appealing that sentence, he was linked to McCann’s disappearance.

McCann vanished during a family vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents Kate and Gerry McCann dined at a nearby restaurant about 130 feet away. The couple had left Madeleine and her 2-year-old twin siblings asleep in the rental apartment, periodically checking in throughout the evening. At one point, Kate discovered a window left open and that her oldest daughter was missing.

Initially, the McCanns were considered suspects after forensic tests detected traces of Madeleine’s blood in a car they rented 25 days after her disappearance. However, over a decade later, German investigators focused on Brueckner as their main suspect, citing evidence linking him to the girl’s disappearance.

Wolters told CNN in 2020 that authorities “actually have findings that suggest that he is Madeleine McCann’s murderer” but prosecutors still had “insufficient evidence to convict.”

A 2016 search of Brueckner’s home uncovered “deeply concerning” materials depicting child abuse, along with writings allegedly describing the kidnapping of young children, according to reports from the Times of London and The Sun. Investigators also discovered over 75 children’s swimsuits and toys in his residence.

The German suspect, soon to be released, has a long history of sexual offenses, including crimes against children. Brueckner was first charged with sexual offenses against children in 1993 and later extradited from Portugal to Germany in 2017, where he served 17 months in prison for sexually abusing a child.