Brueckner has never been charged with any crime in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He denies any involvement.
At the time, he was serving a sentence for an unrelated rape conviction of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz. During this conviction, he reportedly called a prison guard a “son of a b****” in October 2023, according to German outlet Bild. The convicted paedophile and rapist was sentenced to six weeks in prison by the Oldenburg District Court in December 2024.
However, the defense appealed the decision, keeping the sentence tied up in legal proceedings. This sentence was due to be activated on Monday June 1 with a court reportedly prepared to throw out his appeal.
The case was dismissed after Brueckner’s lawyer called in sick, causing a delay until autumn and meaning Brueckner will remain free in the meantime, according to The Sun.
One source close to the case told the paper: “Maddie prosecutors know as long as he is free there is a chance he will flee the country and disappear and take any hopes of the case making it to court with him.”
Madeleine disappeared when she was three years old from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007, sparking a huge police search.
In 2021 Hans Christian Wolters, the lead prosecutor on the German investigation into Brückner, said he was 100% sure that Brückner had murdered Madeleine.
His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal when the little girl vanished.
He remains the prime suspect in both the German and UK investigations into what happened to her.
The 49-year-old has never been charged with any crime in relation to the McCann case. He has previously denied any involvement.