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These photographs show the barren bolthole of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner where he was living just yards from where children were seen playing. The convicted sex offender abandoned the flat in the quiet German town of Neumünster yesterday after the location was disclosed on a local WhatsApp group.
The Metropolitan Police have said the 49-year-old German remains a suspect in its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in Portugal in May 2007 - with Portuguese and German authorities also probing the three-year-old girl's disappearance.
Brueckner was first convicted for child sex offences in 1994 when he was still a teenager. The following year, he moved to the Algarve, where he committed various other crimes, including burglary and theft. He raped a 72-year-old woman in her home in Praia de Luz in 2005 - two years before Madeleine disappeared while on a family holiday. He has been given the apartment in a town in northern Germany by a local council after he was released from prison on September 17, having served a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of the elderly woman in Portugal.
New pictures show the lair where the vile sex attacker was staying, complete with white-washed walls, a single metal-framed bed and simple table and chairs.
The Sun reports that Brueckner was visited by three police vans and 15 officers who took him away after the address and photos of his flat were posted online by worried parents in the town. It's understood he had not left the accommodation for four days prior to the police arriving.
Brueckner left the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover on September 17 and he will have to wear an electronic ankle tag for the next five years, according to a German investigator.
Christian Wolters, prosecutor for the city of Braunschweig, said: "He will also be assigned a probation officer, with whom he must maintain contact at least once a month. Christian B must also notify the court in advance of any change of residence or place of stay and obtain its approval.
"If he violates these conditions, he faces either a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years."
German media also reported that he will have to give up his passport, although his lawyers are expected to appeal against the conditions. Prosecutors still believe Brueckner was responsible for Madeleine's disappearance, and Mr Wolters said Brueckner's release from prison has "no direct impact" on the probe.
Madeleine vanished in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, shortly after she was left sleeping by her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Brueckner has not been charged in the case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He has previously denied any involvement in her disappearance.
Authorities also say he is still dangerous, following a recent psychiatric report that concluded he is likely to commit further crimes after he failed to undergo any therapy while in custody, according to reports.
A court hearing is also listed for October 27 in Oldenburg in north-west Germany, to deal with a case in which he is accused of insulting a prison employee. Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said it had sent an international letter of request to 49-year-old German national Brueckner for him to speak with them upon his release, which he later rejected.
Force chief Sir Mark Rowley said that the British investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine remains a missing person inquiry. He told journalists that the force is "taking stock" of the German and Portuguese investigations now that the prime suspect Brueckner has walked free from prison.
"He remains a suspect for us. We are taking stock of where we are, and the German investigation and the Portuguese investigation," Sir Mark said.
A number of searches have been carried out by German, Portuguese and British authorities since Madeleine's disappearance - with the latest taking place near the Portuguese municipality of Lagos in June.
In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
In October last year, the suspect was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
The total funding given to the Met's investigation, titled Operation Grange, has been more than £13.2 million since 2011 after a further £108,000 was secured from the Government in April.
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