Madeleine McCann investigation continues as suspect cleared of unrelated sexual offences

Christian Brueckner was cleared of rape and sexual abuse charges at a court in Brunswick in Germany. Credit: AP

German prosecutors have said they will continue to investigate Madeleine McCann's disappearance, despite the man it is investigating over the 2007 incident being acquitted of unrelated sexual offences.

Christian Brueckner has been cleared of three charges of rape and two of sexual abuse while on trial in Germany.

Hans Christian Wolters, one of the German prosecutors on the case, said: “The investigation into Madeleine McCann’s case continues despite today’s decision.

"This plays no role in the McCann case.”

German police are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007. Credit: PA

Brueckner has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder.

The toddler from Leicester disappeared in May 2007 while on holiday in Portugal, when the then-three-year-old was left in an apartment with her younger siblings as their parents went out to dinner with friends.

He spent many years in Portugal, including in the resort of Praia da Luz around the time the toddler went missing, but has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

He has a year left to serve of a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2019 by the Braunschweig court for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.

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