British Madeleine McCann the main suspect related to the disappearance is getting out of prison next year, the news agency AFP reports.
The German man was acquitted of all charges Tuesday in a separate sex-crimes trial unrelated to the 2007 McCann disappearance. Prosecutors have announced that they will appeal against the man’s acquittal.
Before this, a 47-year-old German man has been imprisoned for raping an elderly American woman in Portugal. The acts took place in 2005 in Praia da Luz, the same resort where McCann disappeared two years later.
The man was identified as a suspect in McCann’s disappearance in 2020. McCann was three years old when he disappeared from his family’s vacation apartment while his parents were having dinner. Despite massive search operations, no trace of the girl has been found.
Prosecutors demanded an additional sentence of 15 years for the man in the latest trial and described the man as a “dangerous psychopath” and a sadist. However, according to the judge, the man could not be convicted of the charges brought against him due to the unreliable testimony and lack of sufficient forensic evidence.
Two years ago, the man was accused of five separate rapes and child abuse, which he was suspected of committing between 2000 and 2017. Writings describing his fantasies were found in the confiscated notebooks of the man. Although the writings were shocking, according to AFP, there was no direct connection to the crimes the man was suspected of.
The prison sentence for the rape committed in 2005 lasts until September 2025, but according to the earlier statement of the man’s lawyer, the man may be released as early as spring.
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