A SUSPECT in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann allegedly molested a 10-year-old girl on a beach in Portugal just weeks before the Brit child went missing.
The man, known only as Christian B, 45, was earlier charged by German prosecutors with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of the sexual abuse of children, in alleged crimes spanning 17 years between 2000 and 2017.
The suspect, who was 30 at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, has twice been convicted of sex crimes against young girls.
Among the five separate charges, Christian B is accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old German girl on April 7, 2007, less than a month before Madeleine's disappearance in the Algarve in southern Portugal.
The prosecutor's office alleges that he approached the girl wearing just his shoes before assaulting her on a beach in Salema, just seven miles or a 15-minute drive from Madeleine's Praia da Luz apartment.
Braunschweig's public prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said that the alleged attack took place at around 3pm.
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He reportedly ambushed the girl as she played on the rocks and, grabbing her by the wrist, forced her to perform a sexual act on him.
The suspect later let go of the girl and fled.
Christian B was named as an official suspect (arguido) in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in the Algarve in April this year.
Madeleine, from Leicestershire, went missing from her bed in a holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on the evening of May 3, 2007, aged just three years old.
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Christian B is due to face trial early next year.
German prosecutors say the alleged offences he committed took place in Portugal between December 28, 2000, and June 11, 2017.
"The accused is the same person against whom charges were brought in connection with the disappearance of the then 3-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann," the Braunschweig prosecutor's office said in a statement.
"Specifically, the accused is charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children," the prosecutor's office added.
The office said the charges are separate from the Madeleine McCann case.
Specifically, the accused is charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children
Among the other charges Christian B is accused of is the rape of an elderly woman in her Portuguese holiday apartment some time in the early 2000s.
German prosecutors say he broke into her apartment in a mask, tied the woman and raped her before hitting her with a whip, recording the entire act on a video camera.
He is alleged to have sexually assaulted a 14-year-old German-speaking girl at his home in Praia da Luz within the same six-year time period in which the rape of the elderly woman reportedly took place.
In a separate reported attack on June 16, 2004, a 20-year-old Irish woman was allegedly raped at knifepoint after the suspect broke into her holiday apartment in Praia da Rocha, just a 35-minute drive from Praia da Luz.
The alleged attack was filmed before the suspect escaped via the apartment balcony.
A final charge against Christian B relates to an incident on June 11, 2017, just after the 10-year anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
He was arrested after allegedly pulling down his trousers and performing a sex act in front of an 11-year-old girl during a festival in Bartolomeu de Messines, around a 40-minute drive from Praia da Luz.
The young girl ran to her father for help and police were called.
MADDIE SUSPECT CHARGED
A SUSPECT in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian B has been charged with three counts of rape and two child sex offences.
- Between December 28, 2000, and April 8, 2006: A woman aged between 70-80 was raped in the bedroom of her Portugal holiday apartment. The masked suspect tied the victim up and filmed the sexually assaulting whilst hitting and whipping the woman.
- Between December 28, 2000, and April 8, 2006: Allegedly exposed himself to a German-speaking girl aged 14 living in his home in Praia de Luz. The terrifying sexual assault that followed is also believed to have been videotaped by the suspect.
- June 16, 2004: Irish woman, 20, raped at knifepoint at an apartment in Praia da Rocha region. The woman woke to find the masked suspect in her room. The attack was filmed before he then fled over the balcony.
- April 7, 2007: Just three weeks before Madeleine disappeared, the accused was spotted on Salema beach in the Faro district of Portugal, completely naked and only wearing shoes. He then grabbed a ten-year-old German girl who was playing on the rocks before molesting her and fleeing the scene.
- June 11, 2017: Christian B is accused of molesting an 11-year-old Portuguese girl at a playground during a festival. The young girl ran to her father for help before the suspect was arrested.
Madeleine's disappearance 15 years ago sparked the biggest-ever missing child case.
Despite an enormous international manhunt, no trace of her has ever been found, and no one has ever been formally charged over her disappearance.
But in June 2020, German prosecutors made a stunning announcement that they were investigating a man named only as Christian B in connection with the case, saying they had "concrete evidence" he had killed the child.
However, no charges have yet been brought against him, and no body has been found, despite an extensive search of his former property in Germany.
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Christian B was already serving time in prison for a series of previous convictions including sex offences and drug trafficking.
He is currently serving seven years in prison in northern Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
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