Portuguese police did not interview the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case in the weeks after the three-year-old's disappearance as they did not know that he was a convicted sex offender, porn child it was claimed today.
Christian Brueckner's criminal past in Germany was not known to detectives searching for Maddie after she disappeared from the Praia da Luz resort in 2007.
While all sex offenders in the Algarve region came under suspicion and were interviewed, 43-year-old Brueckner was not among them.
Though Brueckner had two convictions for theft and disobedience since arriving in Portugal in 1998, he was not on the radar of those searching for the youngster.
His name was included in a file sent to British police in 2011 - but only because he was a foreigner who had been jailed and not because he was linked to a sex crime.
Christian Brueckner's criminal past in Germany was not known to detectives searching for Madeleine McCann after she disappeared from the Praia da Luz resort in 2007
What we know about Brueckner: a MailOnline timeline plots the German paedophile's trail
It wasn't until Brueckner 'confessed' to a friend in a bar in Germany that he knew about Maddie's disappearance that he became the prime suspect.
German prosecutors are convinced he killed three-year-old Maddie but have admitted they do not have enough evidence to charge him with murder.
Portuguese media said EU countries did not routinely share information on all criminals in the 1990s.
Brueckner was convicted of molesting a six-year-old girl in a playground in his home town of Wurzburg, Bavaria, in 1994 when he was just 17.
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A police source told Portuguese newspaper Expresso: 'Nearly all the Portuguese nationals and foreigners living on the Algarve with sex offence convictions were questioned at the time' (pictured, Portuguese police at the the Praia da Luz resort from where Maddie disappeared)
Though Brueckner had two convictions for theft and disobedience since arriving in Portugal in 1998, he was not on the radar of those searching for three-year-old Maddie
He left Germany for the Algarve after serving part of a two-year youth sentence for the crime. But that conviction was unknown to police on the McCann case in 2007.
Christian Brueckner's criminal past in Germany was not known to detectives searching for Maddie after she disappeared from the Praia da Luz resort in 2007.
While all sex offenders in the Algarve region came under suspicion and were interviewed, 43-year-old Brueckner was not among them.
Though Brueckner had two convictions for theft and disobedience since arriving in Portugal in 1998, he was not on the radar of those searching for the youngster.
His name was included in a file sent to British police in 2011 - but only because he was a foreigner who had been jailed and not because he was linked to a sex crime.
Christian Brueckner's criminal past in Germany was not known to detectives searching for Madeleine McCann after she disappeared from the Praia da Luz resort in 2007
What we know about Brueckner: a MailOnline timeline plots the German paedophile's trail
It wasn't until Brueckner 'confessed' to a friend in a bar in Germany that he knew about Maddie's disappearance that he became the prime suspect.
German prosecutors are convinced he killed three-year-old Maddie but have admitted they do not have enough evidence to charge him with murder.
Portuguese media said EU countries did not routinely share information on all criminals in the 1990s.
Brueckner was convicted of molesting a six-year-old girl in a playground in his home town of Wurzburg, Bavaria, in 1994 when he was just 17.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
Next
Madeleine McCann's parents urge German police to reveal the... Bungling local Madeleine McCann officers froze me out, says... Blundering German police 'TOLD Madeleine McCann suspect he... EXCLUSIVE: Portuguese police are 'incensed' by German...
Share this article
Share
1.2k shares
A police source told Portuguese newspaper Expresso: 'Nearly all the Portuguese nationals and foreigners living on the Algarve with sex offence convictions were questioned at the time' (pictured, Portuguese police at the the Praia da Luz resort from where Maddie disappeared)
Though Brueckner had two convictions for theft and disobedience since arriving in Portugal in 1998, he was not on the radar of those searching for three-year-old Maddie
He left Germany for the Algarve after serving part of a two-year youth sentence for the crime. But that conviction was unknown to police on the McCann case in 2007.
