CHRISTIAN Brueckner has been spotted gorging on a McDonald’s burger and smoking a cigarette in his first acts of freedom.
The convicted paedophile, 48, walked out of a German prison sporting an ankle tag on Wednesday as he remains the only suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Christian Brueckner was seen with an ankle tag after being released from prisonBILD Fotoservice
He was seen taking a puff on a cigaretteBILD Fotoservice
And he also enjoyed a burger from McDonald’sBILD Fotoservice
HandoutBrueckner remains the only suspect for investigators in the disappearance of Brit toddler Maddie[/caption]
Brueckner, who prosecutors still fear is a danger to society due to his twisted criminal past, was pictured stopping off for some food as he made his way to a safe house.
The rapist was seen tucking into a McDonald’s meal at Lower Saxony after he was given a police escort away from the Sehnde jail near Hanover.
Pictures show him gripping on to a burger in the car park with a coffee sat in front of him – and around 30ft from a kids park and Mothercare-style baby store.
The gloating paedophile stood opposite a branch of Baby1One, which specialises in clothes, toys and equipment for youngsters up to toddler age.
He also ate Chicken McNuggets with sweet and sour sauce, according to witnesses.
A second snap shows Brueckner smoking a cigarette by himself.
He can be seen wearing a purple pinstripe shirt, beige trousers and black trainers.
Brueckner also put on a pair of sunglasses as he inhaled the cigarette.
On his right leg, a chunky ankle tag can be seen riding up his trousers.
In order to keep track of him, German courts made sure he was fitted with the device at all times.
The device will be geo-fenced to three-miles around his new permanent home.
This means cops will be alerted instantly if he steps outside the zone without permission.
A local said: “It’s terrifying he has been released from prison and come straight here.
“There are many McDonald’s not next to baby stores like this – take him there.”
Staff said they were unable to say if families were making use of the climbing equipment at the time but admitted: “We know who this man is, it’s not what we want here.”
It appeared the convoy had taken a route towards Oldenburg, in Germany, was Brueckner was previously imprisoned and where he is scheduled to have his next court date, for verbally abusing the governor, in October.
Brueckner will also be forced to surrender his passport and will be given a new government-issued ID card.
Despite the precautions, investigators still worry Brueckner could flee Germany as he doesn’t need a passport to move freely within mainland Europe.
His ankle tag will stop working the moment the sex offender skips past the German borders.
Brueckner’s dark past
CHRISTIAN Brueckner’s criminal record spans decades.
He was jailed in 1994 for sexually abusing children, convicted again of child sex abuse in 2016, and was living in Portugal at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
He was later convicted of raping the American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005 – just yards from the McCann holiday complex – but was cleared last year in a separate rape and sexual abuse case.
A Sun investigation this year — aired on Channel 4 — revealed bombshell new evidence, including his obsession with snatching blonde girls.
But prosecutors are adamant he remains their focus.
Wolters has previously said: “There is no one else. He is the only suspect.”
Brueckner remained in the McDonald’s car park for just 15 minutes before he was driven away in his lawyer’s black Audi A6.
The same car had taken him from prison to the fast food court at around 9:15am local time.
A chilling image showed Brueckner sat in the rear seat with his hand up in the air.
He covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters.
Brueckner has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Why has Brueckner been freed?
The fiend was released from a German jail after serving time for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal.
Today marks the date his seven-year sentence for rape expires – allowing him to walk out of prison and re-enter society.
Brueckner, a drifter with a long history of sex offences against women and children, remains the only suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Despite spending years investigating Brueckner, German lead prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has admitted his team still doesn’t have enough evidence to bring charges over her disappearance.
Dan CharityBrueckner stopped at the McDonald’s less than 100ft from a baby shop[/caption]
Dan CharityBruecker made the stop off after being freed from jail[/caption]
Dan CharityThe convicted paedophile covered his face with a blanket as his car sped past reporters[/caption]
Dan CharityA police convoy took Bruckner to the McDonald’s as he left jail[/caption]
Dan Charity Brueckner was freed from prison in Germany this morning[/caption]
He previously told reporters: “He is not just our number one suspect, he’s our only suspect.
“We have evidence against him but in our view it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely.”
Wolters reaffirmed his hopes to pin the case on Brueckner today as he said: “The release of Christian B has no direct impact on the McCann case.”
Brueckner has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley yesterday said the force was “taking stock” after Brueckner’s release.
He added of the peripatetic paedo: “He remains a suspect for us.
“We’re taking stock on where we are and the German [police’s] investigation and the Portuguese investigation and working out what we make of those.”
Extraditing Brueckner to face questioning in the UK would require cops here to have sufficient evidence to charge him over Maddie’s disappearance, The Sun understands.
EPACops had to wrestle away journalists as Brueckner drove away[/caption]
AFPPolice officers entering the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover where Brueckner had been serving his sentence[/caption]
His release comes as a bitter blow to Madeleine’s devastated parents – Kate and Gerry McCann – who have endured 18 years of anguish searching for answers.
The Brit tot was only three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
The parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant on the night their daughter vanished, returning at 10pm to find her gone while her twin siblings slept.
The McCann case quickly became one of the biggest missing persons investigations in history and has seen multiple suspects let go and dead ends found.
This week, a new lead has emerged after a notorious network of paedophiles linked to a serial child-killer were feared to have ordered Maddie’s kidnapping.
A former top Belgian official, who led the inquiry into the murderer and child-molester Marc Dutroux, says a gang of traffickers could be connected to her disappearance.
Three days before the girl was snatched in 2007, Belgian cops had issued an alert to European police forces over intelligence that a paedophile gang had ordered a small child to be snatched.
It comes as a Sun investigation — aired on Channel 4 earlier this year — revealed the existence of a hard drive and laptop containing images from Portugal, closely linked to the belief held by cops that Madeleine is in fact dead.
TIMELINE OF THE MADDY CASE
HERE’S a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
June 1, 2025
Police order a renewed search for clues in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal.
It lasts for just three days.
September 17, 2025
Christian Brueckner released from jail after serving sentence for rape and allowed to walk free.
AFPAn aerial shot of the jail where the convicted paedophile had been caged[/caption]
