Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B cleared of sex attacks.
The individual implicated in the Madeleine McCann 'Christian B' case has been cleared of several sexual assaults in Portugal that are not connected to the disappearance of the British toddler who at the age of 3, disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007.
Known as Christian B due to privacy regulations, he faced allegations of three rapes and the sexual abuse of two young girls while residing on the Algarve coast, which he denied.
Christian B with Lawyer
During the trial that commenced in February, chief prosecutor Ute Lindemann described the German drifter as a "sadistic psychopath" and urged the judge to impose a 15-year prison sentence. She also argued that he posed such a threat, given his history of rape, child sexual abuse, theft, and fraud, that he should be kept in preventive detention after completing his sentence. However, his attorney contended that the sex crime trial was initiated this year solely because of his status as a suspect in Madeleine's abduction, which occurred in 2007 while her family was on holiday in Portugal.
In his final remarks this week, defense attorney Friedrich Fulscher stated, "This case serves as a lesson about the dire consequences that can arise when the investigating officers from the public prosecutor's office lose their emotional detachment from a case, especially when this mindset is compounded by unprofessional investigations from the police.
" He argued that Christian B should never have faced charges related to the sex crimes. Speaking directly to the prosecutor, he remarked, "Your choice to prosecute would likely have been different if the accused were not Christian B, the individual you are trying to link to a crime that has captured global attention and has cast a shadow over these proceedings."
Christian B, who lived between Germany and Portugal from the 1990s until his arrest and deportation in 2017, has been the primary suspect in Madeleine's disappearance for at least seven years.
Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor overseeing the Madeleine case, has previously stated his belief that Christian B was responsible for the abduction of the three-year-old and that she is no longer alive. However, the 47-year-old suspect, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Portugal, has not been formally charged in connection with Madeleine's case and maintains that he had no part in her disappearance.
The ongoing trial in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, has taken place on sporadic days over the last eight months. Christian B faces serious allegations regarding the rape of Irish holiday worker Hazel Behan in her accommodation at Praia da Rocha back in 2005. She has chosen to forgo her right to anonymity. According to the prosecutor, Ms. Behan endured multiple assaults and was whipped by a masked assailant wielding a knife, in a harrowing experience that shares disturbing similarities with the crime for which Christian B is currently imprisoned. However, Christian B's attorney argued that Ms. Behan's description of her attacker does not align with Christian B, particularly regarding a cross-shaped mark she claimed to have seen on his right thigh, which he asserts he does not possess.
Ms. Behan's conviction that Christian B was her assailant might have been influenced by media coverage surrounding his rape conviction, according to Mr. Fulscher. He claimed that two key witnesses for the prosecution, former friends Helge Busching and Manfred Seyferth, were not truthful about video recordings they alleged to have seen, which supposedly depicted Christian B assaulting an elderly woman and a 14-year-old girl in his rented residence in Portugal. He asserted that these video recordings never existed.
Additionally, Christian B faced charges for allegedly grabbing the wrist of a 10-year-old girl and exposing himself to her on a beach in the Algarve, as well as for masturbating in front of another young girl during a festival in a coastal hillside village. The five sexual offenses were reported to have occurred between 2000 and 2017. With this trial concluded, the Braunschweig prosecutor's office will likely feel the pressure to redirect its focus back to the investigation of Madeleine's case and determine whether to bring charges against Christian B regarding her disappearance.
Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
On the evening of 3 May 2007, Madeleine, who was enjoying a holiday in Portugal with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, her two-year-old twin siblings, and a group of family friends along with their children disappeared.
The McCann kids were tucked in bed at 8:30 PM in their ground-floor apartment while their parents were dining just 55 meters (180 feet) away. Throughout the evening, Kate and Gerry checked on their children periodically, but at 10:00 PM, Kate realized that Madeleine was missing.
In the weeks that followed, the Portuguese police, after misinterpreting a British DNA report, came to suspect that Madeleine had died in an accident in the apartment and that her parents had concealed the truth. In September 2007, the McCanns were named as suspects, but this status was lifted when the case was archived by Portugal's attorney general in July 2008 due to insufficient evidence.
