Madeleine McCann Update: Prime Suspect's Future Behind Bars Up In The Air As Secret Meeting Is Held to Determine Convicted Rapist's Fate
Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Aug. 27 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
The prime suspect in the decade-old search for missing Madeleine McCann could soon be set free, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Time could be running out on the chance to find justice for the girl, who went missing in 2007 while on a family vacation to Portugal at just three years old.
The toddler has been missing since 2007.
Christian Brueckner, 48, is currently serving a seven-year sentence for rape in a separate case.
He has been the main person of interest in McCann's disappearance since 2020, when police found old pieces of children's clothing and photos of children the same age as McCann at a factory he owned.
However, the convicted sex offender has never been charged in connection with the case and has denied any involvement. New searches for clues in Portugal last month came up empty, and prosecutors are running out of charges to hold him on.
Secret Mystery Meeting
A secret meeting could decide if Brueckner is released.
Court president Dr Janina Schaffert said: "A review procedure is pending before the competent criminal enforcement chamber concerning possible orders for supervision of conduct. The criminal enforcement chamber must hear the convicted person orally before making its decision."
However, an exact date for that hearing will remain a mystery. If he is let out, he could be strapped to an ankle monitor to track his whereabouts.
Schaffert explained: "Since the criminal enforcement proceedings are not public as a whole, neither the hearing date and its content nor the decision of the criminal enforcement chamber may be made public. I ask for your understanding in this matter."
Brueckner has nearly completed his seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same resort two years before McCann vanished.
Statue of Limitations
The toddler's parents have never stopped looking for her.
Under Portuguese statute of limitations laws, crimes punishable with jail terms of more than 10 years have to be prosecuted within 15 years.
The German was declared a formal suspect just before that deadline expired in 2022, which gave police another seven-and-a-half years to build a case, which they must do before November 2029.
With the crime having taken place so long ago, only Brueckner can ever now be convicted of McCann's murder.
Meanwhile, local police continue to treat her as a missing person, saying it has no evidence she is dead. McCann would now be 22, and her parents have never given up hope that she is still alive.
Prison Setback
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Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence on an unrelated rape charge.
Brueckner was scheduled to be released from prison in September 2024; however, his stay was extended after he was charged with acting aggressively and making "verbal assaults" against prison staff.
Insiders claimed Brueckner was hit with "minor" charges in hopes he would never see the light of day again.
"He is among the most dangerous sex offenders in Europe. German detectives will not let this sick b------ out of prison without a fight," the source said.
According to a reporter who once sat in on Brueckner's trial, a doctor named Dr. Christian Riedemann said he is in the top "1% of abnormal" and called him "one of the absolute top dangerous people."
