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German prosecutors seek 15 years for 'Maddie' suspect

October 2, 2024

The man is on trial on charges unrelated to the high-profile 2003 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann. Prosecutors have demanded 15 years in jail for rape and child sex abuse.

https://p.dw.com/p/4lLCl
The defendant in court, his face obscured, standing next to defense attorney Friedrich Fülscher.
The defendant has prior convictions and is still serving a separate jail sentenceImage: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa/picture alliance

Chief prosecutor Ute Lindemann on Wednesday described Christian B. as a "dangerous psychopathic sadist," telling a court in Braunschweig that he should receive a 15-year prison sentence.

Lindemann said there was a "high degree of certainty" that he would re-offend and called for him to be placed in preventive detention after serving a current prison sentence.

What is Christian B. accused of?

In closing evidence on Wednesday, Lindemann had previously explained in a plea lasting several hours why she believes the defendant is guilty of two rapes and two cases of sexual abuse.

At the start of the trial, the 47-year-old German was accused of three rapes and two cases of sexual abuse of children.

B., who has been on trial over the allegations since February in the German city of Braunschweig, is said to have committed the crimes in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

Madeleine McCann
Madeleine disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in 2003Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Brainpix/Itspress/Pacoeden

Because the statute of limitations was found to have expired on one of the rape allegations, it was not included in the prosecution's sentencing demands.

Suspect in multiple cases

Lindemann called for 13 years for the remaining two counts of rape and two years for two counts of child sex abuse.

B.'s defense team has raised major doubts about the evidence against him. In July, his lawyers won a bid for an arrest warrant against him to be canceled.

That move was a technicality, with B. behind bars, over the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in 2005.

In 2020, he was revealed as a suspect in the case of the missing three-year-old Madeleine "Maddie" McCann, although he has not yet been charged. However, German prosecutors say they have "concrete evidence" that Madeleine is dead.

The three-year-old went missing in 2003, while her family was on vacation in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. She disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment, and it is believed she may have been killed.

If acquitted in the Braunschweig trial and not charged in the "Maddie" case, B.'s lawyers say he could be free as soon as the first half of next year.

The defense's summation is expected on Monday, October 7, with a verdict possible on Tuesday.

rc/msh (AFP, AP, dpa)