Madeleine McCann Suspect Acquitted in Unrelated German Rape Trial

Oct 8, 2024, 04:18 AM

Christian Brueckner, the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has been acquitted by a German court in Brunswick on October 8, 2024, of unrelated rape and sexual abuse charges. The court's decision clears Brueckner of several offenses allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2007, for which he faced a possible 15-year prison sentence. Brueckner spoke for the first time during the trial, with his lawyers arguing that he was facing charges only because he is a suspect in the McCann case. Madeleine McCann's parents had been bracing for the verdict, which is likely to hinder attempts to charge Brueckner with the abduction and murder of their daughter in 2007.