The prosecutor believes the 48-year-old suspect, who is serving a prison sentence in Germany for rape, is responsible for the death of the child in the Algarve, even though the case has never been solved and no body has been found.

Without sufficient evidence to charge the case, the German prosecutor cannot prevent the release of the suspect, who has a criminal record for violent sexual crimes and is due to be released on September 17.

In an interview with AFP, prosecutor Christian Wolters stressed that Brückner remains dangerous and, according to a recent psychiatric examination, "further sexual assaults are expected."

"He didn't follow any therapy (...) in prison, and therefore we assume he will reoffend," Wolters said.

Consequently, the German Public Prosecutor's Office requested that Brückner be subjected to electronic surveillance measures, but a court decision has not yet been made on the matter.

But even subject to this type of surveillance, Brückner will be "a free man," the prosecutor emphasized, believing the suspect will leave Germany, given the media attention.

Christian Brückner has always denied any connection to the Madeleine McCann case, while the German Public Prosecutor's Office has never released the information in the case file, citing confidentiality.

Brückner's release on September 17th was made possible after an anonymous donor paid a fine he owed in June.

Brückner also had an outstanding €1,446 fine from a previous conviction in 2015, and if he failed to pay, he would face an additional 56 days in prison.

German authorities hoped that extending the sentence would give investigators more time to file new charges in the McCann case.

In early June, searches were carried out in the Atalaia area of ​​Lagos, Algarve, at the request of German authorities as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007.

For three days, about 30 inspectors from the Judiciary Police and an equal number of German police officers searched dilapidated buildings, cisterns, and abandoned wells on dozens of properties in the Atalaia area between Porto de Mós Beach and the village of Luz, in places where Christian Brückner had passed.

The work used ground-sensing radar, equipment that allows for the identification of soil changes, and brush cutters and shredders to clear parts of the land. Several objects were collected for analysis by German police.

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the apartment where she was sleeping with her two-year-old twin brothers in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

In 2020, German police named Christian Brückner as the prime suspect in the child's kidnapping and murder, but no charges were filed.