Madeleine McCann case: German sex offender suspected of snatching toddler 'raped woman at same Portuguese resort'

The suspect, 43, carried out the sex attack on his 72-year-old American victim in Praia da Luz in September 2005
Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007. This photofit was previously released on a suspect
(PA)
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Police said today they have received new tip-offs about the Madeleine McCann case as it emerged that a German paedophile suspected of snatching her raped a woman in the same Portuguese resort less than two years before the child disappeared.

The suspect, 43, carried out the sex attack on his 72-year-old American victim in Praia da Luz in September 2005 and is now in prison in Germany after being convicted of the offence only last year.

He also has two convictions for “sexual contact” with girls and is a drifter suspected of burgling hotels and holiday complexes on the Algarve, where he lived for 12 years before leaving after Madeleine vanished.

The revelations came as phone lines were reported to be “hot” with potential tip-offs following a televised appeal in Germany last night for information about Madeleine’s disappearance and possible murder. Scotland Yard confirmed that new information has been received.

The prime suspect, who has been identified as Christian Brueckner, is alleged to have discussed Madeleine’s disappearance in an online chat room.

At a press conference on Thursday, Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor's Office, said they were assuming that Madeleine was dead.

He added: “With the suspect, we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he’s already serving a long sentence.”

The suspect's 1993 Jaguar XJR6 that was transferred to someone else's name the day after Madeleine went missing
PA

According to The Times, Goncalo Amaral, the chief of the original Portuguese police investigation, said: “Many years later, it appears that in an internet chatroom there is a conversation between that person and another person where they talk about Madeleine.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, leading the investigation, said: “In Germany they have had quite a number of calls. We have had a positive response and there are a couple of lines of inquiry we will be pursuing as a result of those calls.

“That will be with our German colleagues and Portuguese colleagues. We will let the dust settle, work out what we’ve got, and try to get together and work out a plan of action. But there will be some immediate lines of inquiry that we can all do individually. Are they the golden nugget? Time will tell.”

Mr Cranwell, who yesterday led a Scotland Yard appeal for information about a VW camper van and a Jaguar car used by the man as well as two phone numbers, said he was convinced that associates of the suspect could help solve the mystery over Madeleine’s fate.

He added: “Somebody out there knows something. I really want to make that point. Please do come forward. He engaged with people, he wasn’t shy and retiring, I’m sure somebody would know something.”

Scotland Yard has emphasised that there is still no definitive proof of what happened to Madeleine or whether she is dead or alive.

German detectives say, however, that they believe the suspect killed Madeleine, who was three when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

They were reported today to have “almost enough evidence” to charge him with her killing and are classing the case as a murder investigation.

Progress was made when a public appeal in this country by Met officers pursuing the case led to a significant tip-off. Scotland Yard detectives contacted German police and have been liaising with them, and officers in Portugal, ever since.

A camper van belonging to the suspect was seen around Praia da Luz resort where the McCann family was staying (Metropolitan Police

Christian Hoppe, from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, known as BKA , told the ZDF channel the suspect might have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex, where Madeleine was staying with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and twin siblings Sean and Amelie, before kidnapping her.

He added: “Unfortunately, our investigation leads us to believe she was killed. The Brunswick state prosecutor has opened a case on suspicion of murder.”

Mr Hoppe said his force’s investigation “has led us to believe that the suspect could be the perpetrator” but emphasised that “we still need more information”.

Madeleine McCann's parents (pictured in 2012) are clinging onto hope of finding their daughter
AFP via Getty Images

He also disclosed that the first tip about the suspect’s potential connection to Madeleine’s disappearance had been provided in the wake of a German televised appeal in 2013.

But he said that insufficient evidence had emerged then and that it was only after the 2017 tip-off following the Met’s appeal here that the investigation had been able to progress.

A statement from Madeleine’s parents said: “We welcome the appeal today regarding the disappearance of our daughter Madeleine.”

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