Christian Brueckner, the suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, was released from prison in Germany. Photo / Getty Images
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been photographed eating a McDonald’s burger while wearing an ankle tag shortly after his release from prison.
Christian Brueckner, the 49-year-old convicted paedophile, was freed from Sehnde prison in northern Germany after serving a seven-year prison sentence for rape.
German detectives believe Brueckner was behind the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine, who vanished from an apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents and two siblings.
Prosecutors have been unable to produce enough evidence to formally charge Brueckner but are adamant that he is the only suspect involved in her alleged abduction and murder.
Two hours after his release, photographs were published by Bild, the German tabloid, of Brueckner eating a burger and chicken nuggets outside a McDonald’s in Lower Saxony.
A large electronic ankle tag was clearly visible on his right leg.
Wearing a pair of sunglasses, a chequered lilac shirt and beige trousers, he smoked a cigarette in front of the entrance to the fast-food restaurant.
Hans Christian Wolters, the spokesman for the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office, described Brueckner as a highly dangerous sexual delinquent, who will probably go on to commit further offences.
In an interview with the French radio channel France Inter, he said: “His victims are young children and women of all ages. He underwent no therapy in prison. So we believe the risk of repeat offences is high. This worries us.”
He added: “It would be a nightmare if he committed another serious crime. But the presumption of innocence applies until proven otherwise. That’s how the rule of law works.”
During their five-year investigation into Brueckner in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance, nothing has emerged that refutes the suspicion against him, Wolters said.
“No exculpatory evidence, no alibi, no indication that he could not have been at the crime scene,” he added.
Brueckner has denied all the allegations.
At 9.15am local time, Brueckner was driven away from Sehnde Prison by Friedrich Fulscher, his lawyer, under an escort of three police vans and more than a dozen officers.
They were outnumbered by a throng of around 30 journalists and photographers from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Portugal who were waiting on the grass verge outside the prison.
Brueckner, sitting in the rear right-hand side passenger seat, concealed his face with a shopping bag as the black Audi left the prison grounds and headed north towards Hamburg.
The convicted sex offender must wear an electronic ankle tag for the next five years, according to the conditions imposed by Hildesheim Regional Court, the Telegraph was told.
He will also be required to check in with a probation officer at least once a month and seek permission from the authorities for any travel plans, or a change in residence. His passport has also been revoked, according to reports.
If he violates these conditions, he faces a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.
Brueckner, in an interview in June, admitted he intended to flee to a country without an extradition treaty with Germany and go into hiding.
He said: “The fact is that I have been in prison for many years for something that I cannot have committed and that therefore, through the participation of the media, half the world considers me a cruel rapist.”
In 2019, Brueckner was convicted of raping and beating a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Earlier this week, Scotland Yard disclosed that they had submitted a formal request to interview Brueckner, who remains a suspect in their own separate investigations, shortly before his release.
However, Brueckner refused and the Metropolitan Police admitted that they were powerless to enforce it.
Mark Rowley, the Met Police Commissioner, said the force’s investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance remains a missing person inquiry.
He told journalists that the force is “taking stock” of the German and Portuguese investigations now that Brueckner has walked free.
“He remains a suspect for us. We are taking stock of where we are, and the German investigation and the Portuguese investigation,” Rowley added.
The force launched a fresh investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine in 2011.
Titled Operation Grange, the Home Office funded a team of Met Police detectives to look at every aspect of the case from its beginning.
They worked closely with the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria and published a series of appeals asking for fresh information.
It was as a result of one of those appeals that Brueckner was named as a suspect.
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