Overview
- Brückner left the Sehnde prison near Hannover on September 17, escorted by his lawyer as news crews gathered outside.
- Under court-ordered measures, he surrendered his passport, is barred from leaving Germany and must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
- German authorities continue to identify him as the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s 2007 disappearance, yet they say the case lacks evidence for an arrest warrant or indictment.
- He completed a sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American in Portugal, a conviction separate from the McCann investigation.
- Investigators report pursuing thousands of leads and have filed separate indictments tied to five additional sexual-offence allegations, while an October 2024 Braunschweig acquittal in a related case remains under prosecution appeal.