A suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann was acquitted of unrelated sexual abuse charges by a court in the German city of Brunswick on Tuesday.

Christian Brueckner has been formally identified as a suspect in the case of "Maddie" McCann, who disappeared from her bedroom in 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal. He denies any involvement and charges have not been brought.

In the trial in Brunswick, Brueckner faced three charges of aggravated rape and two of sexual abuse of children committed between 2000 and 2017.

Prosecutors had called for him to be jailed for a further 15 years, describing him as a "dangerous psychopathic sadist".

However, the presiding judge Uta Engemann said Brueckner could "not be convicted of the acts he is accused of" and ruled: "The defendant is acquitted."

Brueckner, 47, is already serving a seven-year prison term in Germany for raping a 72-year-old US tourist in 2005 in Praia da Luz — the same Portuguese seaside resort where Madeleine went missing two years later.

The latest trial has been closely watched because the acquittal means Brueckner could be released from jail as early as next year, according to court officials.

A lack of hard evidence 

In one of the cases, prosecutors had accused Brueckner of entering the holiday apartment of a woman aged between 70 and 80, tying her up and beating and sexually assaulting her.

In another case, he had been accused of entering a young Irish woman's apartment via her balcony while she was sleeping, threatening her with a knife and raping her several times.

He had also been accused of exposing himself in front of a 10-year-old German girl on a beach and to an 11-year-old Portuguese girl at a playground.

The charges came about as a result of investigations into the "Maddie" case, according to prosecutors.

However, the defence had raised serious doubts about the cases against Brueckner, which were based on testimonies but not forensic evidence.

Notebooks seized from Brueckner detailing his sexual fantasies were also used as evidence. But, despite their disturbing content, they provided no direct link to the alleged crimes.

Missing without a trace

In July, Brueckner's lawyers succeeded in having an arrest warrant against him cancelled as there was no longer deemed to be an "urgent suspicion" that he committed the five offences.

The move at the time was a technicality as Brueckner remained behind bars.

But his lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, argued that the court's decision was a "clear sign that the defendant will be acquitted".

Brueckner's current rape sentence runs until September 2025, according to Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the prosecution in Brunswick, although Mr Fuelscher has said the defendant could be free as soon as the spring.

Three-year-old Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.

Despite a huge international manhunt and global media attention, no trace of her has been found.

Investigations are continuing in the "Maddie" case and will proceed regardless of the outcome of the trial, prosecutor Wolters told AFP earlier this week.

"At present, I am unable to say when we will be able to conclude these investigations and with what result," he said.

AFP/Reuters