Madeleine Mccann suspect is denied request for parole
THE prime suspect in the kidnapping of Madeleine Mccann has been denied freedom by a parole board.
Christian Brueckner, 45, is serving a seven-year sentence for raping a pensioner in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine went missing 15 years ago today.
Brueckner, a German national, became eligible for parole after serving half his sentence in the northern city of Kiel.
But a panel denied the request because they deemed he would commit further offences if released, according to the Daily Mirror.
The application was heard in private in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, on April 21.
A spokesman for the Oldenburg District Court said: “The court ruled there were no grounds for suspending the remainder of the sentence.”
Brueckner will now remain locked up until at least May 2023, the next time a parole application can be made.
It comes amid reports that the convicted paedophile has provided an alibi to US documentary makers about the night Madeleine went missing.
Brueckner was last month formally made an “arguido” or suspect by prosecutors in Portugal after being fingered for the abduction by German law enforcement.
But yesterday it emerged that he claims he had sex with a woman in his camper van at the time of the threeyear-old girl’s disappearance.
He has given details of his alibi to the documentary Madeleine Mccann: Prime Suspect, which will air tonight.
Madeleine disappeared between 9pm and 10pm on May 3 2007, according to her parents, Kate and Gerry Mccann.
But Brueckner has claimed he was miles from the scene, having sex in his camper van with a woman who will support his alibi, according to Sky News.
By 10pm he had driven the woman along the coast to Faro airport, he claimed.
German officials say that Brueckner has not shared details of this alibi despite denying all involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.