Pictures prove Portuguese police knew Madeleine McCann suspect's sordid past
EXCLUSIVE Portuguese cops did know about Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner’s paedophile past - but they failed to investigate him at crucial time
Portuguese cops did know about Christian Brueckner’s paedophile past (Image: Supplied)
EXCLUSIVE Portuguese cops did know about Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner’s paedophile past - but they failed to investigate him at crucial time
Police mugshots have emerged which show Portuguese cops DID know about Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner’s paedophile past.
A series of images of the German were taken in Faro in July 1999 – eight years before Madeleine was abducted in Praia da Luz, 60 miles away.
The pictures – never made public before – were in court files obtained exclusively by the Sunday Mirror.
Brueckner was 22 and was being extradited to his native Germany over a playground assault on a girl of six in 1994.
He served two years in jail before returning to his old stomping ground in Portugal.
Bruckner at an Algarve police station (Image: Supplied)
Brueckner was never investigated at the time of the disappearance (Image: Supplied)
Brueckner raped a woman of 72 in 2005 and is suspected of a string of burglaries at holiday properties like the one Madeleine was staying in.
A phone call allegedly links him to Praia the night Madeleine vanished.
And these pictures show he was on the files of Portuguese police all along.
Last night experts said the pictures raised further questions about why Brueckner was not considered a suspect when Madeleine vanished.
Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007 (Image: PA)
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas said: “So in 1999 Christian Brueckner came to the attention of the Portuguese police, having committed a sexual offence against a child.
"It is now clear police failed to trace, interview and eliminate a local child sex offender.
"Had they done so, Brueckner would have been flagged up as a significant person of interest and potential forensic evidence obtained from his campervan.
“This new information just reveals more incompetence with the initial investigation.”
The main photo shows Brueckner in white trousers, a smart top and groomed hair.
It contrasts with a police mugshot taken in Italy in 2018 showing him ravaged by years of drink and drug abuse.
Brueckner is the chief suspect (Image: ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE)
The drifter, 43, is serving a 21-month drug sentence in Kiel prison, Germany.
He was also given a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape but is appealing against that conviction on a technicality.
Brueckner was named last month as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
German prosecutors fear he kidnapped and killed Madeleine, three, after breaking into the McCanns’ flat in May 2007.
Ten days ago police searched three wells but failed to find any trace of Madeleine.
The abandoned wells are a 15-minute drive from Brueckner’s rented cottage outside Praia and near a beach where he used to park his VW van.
Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate, from Rothley, Leics, are clinging to the hope she is still alive.
