German suspect in Maddie case acquitted on rape charges

Christian B., the man suspected of involvement in the mysterious kidnapping of three-year-old Madeleine McCann from the UK's Portuguese Algarve coast, appeared before the court in Braunschweig in another case. He was accused of committing a series of sexual crimes.

Investigators suspected him of committing three rapes in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. He was also set to answer for the sexual abuse of two minors.

The Braunschweig court found the 47-year-old German not guilty of these crimes. Judge Uta Engemann, announcing the verdict on Tuesday, stated that Christian B. cannot be convicted of these acts he was accused of. "The rule of law can and must endure this," commented the judge.

However, finding the man not guilty does not mean he is clean as a whistle. During the trial, a medical expert ruled that the 47-year-old posed an extreme danger.

Christian B. has a history of multiple convictions for sexual offences. He is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal. The verdict in this case was passed in Braunschweig in 2019.

The case of little Maddie, who disappeared from a hotel room in the tourist town on the Algarve coast in Portugal in 2007, is being handled by another court. Still, investigators from Braunschweig consider Christian B.'s involvement in the kidnapping and murder of the girl to be highly probable.

The German prosecutor's office determined that the suspect had spent a lot of time in that region of Portugal. He stayed on the Algarve coast for many years, working odd jobs. He has not only the rape, for which he is serving a prison sentence but also numerous burglaries of resorts and hotels on his record.

Seventeen years after the mysterious disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the truth about those events remains unknown. Suspect Christian B. may soon be released, as in 2025 he will complete his seven-year prison sentence for the rape of the 72-year-old at Oldenburg prison.