The verdict in the trial of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B for rape and child sexual abuse is expected by a court in Germany on Tuesday morning.
47-year-old Christian B, who is not identified by his full name under German privacy rules, is said to have committed the crimes in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
The court in Braunschweig is expected to hand down a verdict at 10:00 am (08:00 GMT).
The charges are not related to the high-profile 2007 disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine “Maddie” McCann, a British girl who was abducted from a Portuguese resort while on holiday with her family.
But investigators in Portugal have identified Christian B as their prime suspect in the McCann case, which has received extensive media attention, especially in the United Kingdom.
In the German criminal case, Christian B’s lawyers asked for an acquittal on Monday. Prosecutors had previously sought a 15-year prison sentence against Christian B, as well as continued preventive detention after serving the sentence.
Christian B has several previous convictions for sex-related crimes. He did not testify or make any statement at the trial.
He is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman. He was convicted in that case in 2019 by the court in Braunschweig.
The court in Braunschweig has jurisdiction because Christian B’s last registered address in Germany was in the state of Lower Saxony, to which the city also belongs.