Maddie McCann suspect charged with slew of new sex offences

German prosecutors allege ‘Christian B’, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Maddie McCann, filmed the rape of several women and sexually abused children.

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been charged with three unrelated counts of rape and two sexual offences against children.

The 45-year-old German man, Christian B, is currently serving time for raping a woman in the same area of Portugal where the British toddler went missing 25 years ago.

Prosecutors said the five new charges related to multiple offences allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing from her family’s holiday apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007, while her parents were at a nearby tapas bar.

Despite a huge international manhunt, her body has never been found and no one has been charged over her disappearance just days before her fourth birthday.

Madeleine_McCann and “Christian B”. Picture: Supplied

German prosecutors stunned the world in 2020 when they said they had “concrete evidence” Christian B killed Maddie.

While prosecutors said they were unable to give detail on their investigation into Maddie’s death, they’ve previously alleged Christian B lived in the Algarve region of Portugal between 1995 and 2007.

It is alleged he burgled hotel rooms and holiday flats while working odd jobs in the area where Madeleine was taken.

The new charges against him include entering the holiday apartment of a woman aged between 70 and 80 and then raping her and beating her.

He is also charged with entering the apartment of a 20-year-old Irish woman while she was asleep before raping and assaulting her.

Christian B., when he was arrested for drug trafficking in Italy in 2018. Picture: AFP

The third rape case involves a girl aged around 14, whom Christian B. is alleged to have abused at his own home in Praia da Luz.

In all three cases, he is accused of filming the assaults.

The fourth allegation involves a 10-year-old German girl who Christian B allegedly approached while she was playing.

The suspect also approached an 11-year-old Portuguese girl while she was sitting on a swing at a festival and allegedly engaged in illegal conduct.

When placed under investigation by German police, Christian B. already had a string of previous convictions including sexual offences and drug trafficking.

He is currently serving a seven-year sentence in Oldenburg, northern Germany, for raping a 72-year-old US tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Following the German announcement, investigators elsewhere in Europe began once again looking at cold cases of missing children

Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed the charges as progress into the search for their missing daughter. Picture: AFP

Earlier this year, Portuguese prosecutors also named Christian B. as an “arguido”, or formal suspect, in the Madeleine McCann case.

The girl’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann — who were at one point formal suspects themselves — welcomed that announcement as a reflection of “progress in the investigation”.

The German prosecutors on Tuesday appealed to the public to come forward with any information they may have about the suspect.

Brunswick prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters had in April told AFP his team was investigating Christian B. on suspicion of various sexual offences in addition to the Madeleine McCann probe.

Wolters said he hoped to complete those probes soon, while the Maddie investigation “could take a while longer”.