McCann abduction suspect charged with 3 other sex offenses

Berlin, Oct 12: Charges have been filed against the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann abduction case for alleged sex offenses, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.

What do we know about the charges?

Prosecutors said the charges involved three cases of aggravated rape and two cases of sexual abuse of children. The 45-year-old suspect allegedly committed the crimes in Portugal between the years of 2000 and 2017.

He is charged with entering the holiday apartment of a woman between 70 and 80 years of age and raping and beating her. He is also charged with raping a 20-year-old Irish woman after entering her apartment while she was asleep, and abusing a 14-year-old girl at his own home.

He is accused of filming all three assaults.

The suspect has served multiple jail sentences for child sex abuse. He is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of a US women in 2005 in Portugal's southern Algarve region.

The suspect's defense lawyer told the DPA news agency that the evidence in the cases was "scanty."

German police said the suspect lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he burgled hotel rooms and holiday apartments.

Prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case

The German man is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in 2007. He was officially declared a suspect in April of this year. In June, German investigators said they had found "concrete evidence" that the suspect killed Madeleine.

No charges have been brought against the German man in the McCann disappearance case, and no body has been found. German prosecutors said investigations were ongoing as of Tuesday.

Madeleine disappeared at the age of 3 from an apartment rented by her family in the town of Praia de Luz in Algarve. Portuguese prosecutors named the child's parents as suspects in 2007, but they were later cleared.

Source: DW