Bombshell Breakthrough: Fears Infamous Pedo Network Linked to Child Killer Behind 'Stolen To Order' Madeleine McCann
Madeleine McCann's disappearance is feared to be linked to a notorious pedophile network, according to top official.
Sept. 16 2025, Published 11:06 a.m. ET
An infamous pedophile network linked to a serial child-killer ordered the kidnapping of missing toddler Madeleine McCann, according to new claims.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Marc Verwilghen, who served as Belgium justice minister for three years and led the inquiry into the murderer and child-molester Marc Dutroux, said a gang of traffickers could be connected to her disappearance.
'Stolen To Order'
The pedophile gang ordered a small child to be snatched days prior to Madeleine's disappearance.
Cops investigating prime suspect and alleged pedophile Christian Brueckner — set for release from jail on Wednesday — are taking the claims seriously.
The British toddler was three when she vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
But three days prior to her disappearance, Belgian cops had issued an alert to European police forces over intelligence that a pedophile gang had ordered a small child to be snatched.
'Taking Claims Seriously'
Cops investigating prime suspect and pedophile Christian Brueckner are looking into the claims.
Verwilghen said: "I have never had access to the Madeleine McCann files.
"All I can say is as soon as I heard about the case I had deja vu — because it reminded me straight away of Dutroux.
"When you look at the case it is of course possible Madeleine was stolen to order.
"The alert that was sent looks like it must have come from Belgium police and it should have been taken seriously.
"Dutroux investigators uncovered reports of possible pedophile rings operating in Belgium at that time but couldn't finish their enquiry as this was focused on Dutroux, handling him as a lone actor."
Parallels With Madeleine
Police chief admits there are parallels between Madeleine's disappearance and cases involving killer, Marc Dutroux.
Dutroux, 68, abducted, raped and murdered girls in Belgium in the 1990s.
He was arrested in 1996 and jailed for life in 2004 and is thought to have links to European networks of child-sex traffickers.
Admitting many "similarities" between the cases, Verwilghen added: "It was clear pedophile networks and child-trafficking really did exist in Europe — we know this since Dutroux but the enquiry committee was never allowed to look into them properly.
"It was clear that these existed to make money.
"These could be informal networks, one person dealing with another, but they existed.
"The Dutroux case showed us the abduction of children took organisation and planning and more than one person to make this work.
Police searched areas near to where Madeleine was last seen in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in June.
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"Intelligence suggests a pedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken. Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium.
"The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken."
The Belgian police warning first emerged in 2008 when a fax was released as part of a bundle of files surrounding the McCann case.
In 2016 British cops probing her disappearance started looking into a gang of European traffickers but the theory has never been publicly linked to German Brueckner.
Officials investigating the rapist believe Madeleine was likely stolen to order rather than being snatched by a "lone wolf."
The toddler's parents Gerry and Kate McCann have never stopped looking for her.
But their probe is focused solely on his alleged role and not on any wider pedophile network.
A source close to the case in Germany said: "Police take seriously the claims that emerged from Belgium — that Maddie was ordered to be stolen.
"They believe there is no way whoever took her could have been acting alone — that would have made no sense.
"But there is not interest in the network, that creates too many new agencies and they want to keep their focus on the current suspect."
Brueckner, 48, was living in the Algarve at the time Madeleine went missing.
In June, cops launched a fresh search for signs of the youngster in Praia da Luz, near to where she was last seen.
