Madeleine McCann prime suspect to be freed from German prison in weeks

Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner is being detained at Sehnde Prison near Hanover, where he is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the Algarve in 2006, which he still denies.

He will be released by September 17 at the latest, according to the lead prosecutor investigating Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

The 48-year-old German national is still thought to be dangerous, prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has said.

He said an expert recently assessed the convict, determining him to be a danger to society.

However, the criminal will be released from prison without delay due to the current legal situation, Mr Wolters added.

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Brueckner has previously been described by staff at the prison as reclusive and emotionless.

He has been acquitted for five non-related sex offences. These included three separate counts of rape and two cases of exposing himself to children.

While the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, he has never been charged with any crime in relation to it and denies any involvement.

Then three years old, the toddler vanished from a holiday spot near his house on May 3 2007 - becoming perhaps the most high-profile missing persons case this century.

She vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.

In June, German authorities were reportedly looking to build a case against Brueckner as cops scoured more than 20 plots of land in Praia da Luz.

However, the renewed search for missing girl officially ended after just three days.

They spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation.

There was an option to extend the search if any clues had been found - but officers turned up "nothing of consequence".

But there were items seized during the search still under analysis, the prosecutor said.

The case is still unsolved, but German prosecutors have argued that some evidence suggests Brückner may have been in the area when Madeleine vanished.

Brückner "is not just our number one suspect, he's the only suspect", Mr Wolters said, adding: "There is no-one else"

"We have evidence which speaks against [Brückner], which indicates that he is responsible for the disappearance and the death of Madeleine McCann,” he told the BBC.

He added: "We haven't found anything in the last five years that exonerates [him]. We found evidence that strengthens our case. But in our view it's not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely, and that's why so far we couldn't charge him or apply for an arrest warrant."

British police continue to treat the girl’s disappearance as a missing persons case, but German authorities suspect Brückner of murder.