BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors on Wednesday sought a conviction for sex crimes and a 15-year prison sentence for a man who is also under separate investigation in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann.
The 47-year-old German national, identified by local media as Christian Brueckner, is on trial at the Braunschweig State Court in northern Germany for crimes he allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Closing arguments in the trial that began in February began Wednesday. Prosecutor Ute Lindemann argued that he should be convicted of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual abuse, and held in preventive detention after serving a 15-year prison sentence, German news agency dpa reported. Lindemann said he should be acquitted of a third rape charge.
The defense is expected to argue its case on Monday and a verdict could follow on Tuesday.
The suspect has not been charged the McCann casewhere he is under research on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the seaside resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.
He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005.
Brueckner’s attorney said in February that his client wouldn’t respond on the charges, but that he expected an acquittal. There are no formal pleas in the German legal system and no obligation for suspects to respond.
In July, the court dissolved an arrest warrant in the cases at stake in the current trial, citing a lack of “urgent suspicion” against the suspect. But he is behind bars because of the sentence he is currently serving.