Police have eight years to charge Maddie suspect

PROSECUTORS in Portugal have almost eight years to decide whether to bring charges against Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner.

The 44-year-old German was made an arguido, or official suspect, last month.

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance from her family’s Algarve apartment. Portugal’s laws mean suspects have to be declared within 15 years of a crime.

Now that step has been taken, authorities can continue to investigate the case until November 2029 without having to decide whether to charge the suspect.

Brueckner is currently serving a sevenyear jail sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman, and a recent parole application was rejected.

The district court in Oldenburg, Germany, refused his request last month after authorities warned he could reoffend if released.

Brueckner has denied he was involved in Madeleine’s disappearance and claims he has an alibi for the night she vanished. He allegedly told documentarymakers he was with a 17-year-old in another town in the Algarve.