Christian Brueckner, who prosecutors believe abducted British toddler Madeleine McCann, has been released from prison after serving a sentence in an unrelated rape case.
Christian Brueckner, the convicted rapist identified by German prosecutors as the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, was released from prison in northern Germany on Wednesday after serving his sentence in an unrelated rape case.
Shortly after 9 a.m. local time, Brueckner was driven out of the Sehnde prison in a black Audi, accompanied by his lawyer and a police escort. Police confirmed that he had left the facility but said they did not know where he was going.
Brueckner, 48, just completed a seven-year prison sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal. Upon his release, he was fitted with an electronic ankle tag, a condition imposed to enable authorities to monitor his movements. His lawyers have declined to say where he will live.
German prosecutors have said they believe Brueckner is responsible for McCann’s disappearance from her family’s vacation rental home in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, citing evidence including cell phone data that placed him near the resort at the time.
