Germany: McCann prime suspect in court for new charges

Christian B., the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, will be tried in Germany starting in February over five unrelated sexual offenses.

The regional court in Braunschweig said on Thursday that the trial, due to begin on February 16, is over three counts of rape and two sexual offenses against children, all believed to have been committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

Who was Maddie McCann?

Then aged three, McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents dined with friends nearby. Despite huge search efforts and extensive Europe-wide media coverage, no trace of her was ever found.

Christian B. spent several years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz. He has denied any connection with the then-toddler's disappearance.

In June 2020, German prosecutors said they had "concrete evidence" Christian B. killed the British girl, but he has yet to face formal charges.

What do we know about Christian B.'s latest indictment?

Christian B. is believed to have lived in Portugal's Algarve region between 1995 and 2007, according to German police. He made a living there doing odd jobs, but is also believed to have burgled hotel rooms and holiday apartments.

In line with German rules on protecting suspects' identities in ongoing cases, Christian's surname cannot be given in this current case.

In October 2022, Braunschweig prosecutors charged him with five unrelated sexual offenses. They included tying up, raping and beating a woman aged between 70 and 80 whose vacation apartment he'd broken into in 2006.

He is also charged with brutally raping and assaulting a 20-year-old Irish woman after entering her apartment during her sleep.

Christian B. is also accused of sexually assaulting a German-speaking girl around 14 years old at his own home.

He is accused of filming the assaults in all three cases.

The suspect also allegedly exposed himself to a 10-year-old German girl and an 11-year-old Portuguese girl on separate occasions.

An indictment of over 100 pages is based on several years of intensive investigation across various European countries.

Friedrich Fülscher, Christian B.'s defense lawyer, told the German DPA news agency in response to the indictment that his client has thus far remained silent, describing this as tantamount to a blanket denial.

In a separate case, Christian B. was convicted of raping a 72-year-old US tourist in Portugal's Praia da Luz resort in 2005. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, a sentence that is set to end in 2025.

Correction, December 1, 2023: An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified the main suspect. DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing full names in such cases. We apologize for the error.

rmt/ab (AFP, dpa)