German prosecutors seek 15-year prison term for Madeleine McCann suspect in an unrelated trial

BERLIN — German prosecutors called Wednesday for a sexual offenses conviction and a 15-year prison sentence for a man who is also under investigation separately in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann.

The 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Christian Brueckner, is on trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany over offenses he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

Closing arguments in the trial that opened in February started on Wednesday. Prosecutor Ute Lindemann argued that he should be convicted of two counts of rape and two of sexual abuse, and should be kept in preventive detention after he has served a 15-year sentence, German news agency dpa reported. Lindemann said he should be acquitted of a third count of rape.

The defense is expected to make its case on Monday, and a verdict could follow on Tuesday.

The suspect hasn’t been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder. He spent many years in Portugal, including in the 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 lawyer said in February that his client wouldn't respond to the charges, but that he expected an acquittal. There are no formal pleas in the German legal system and there is no obligation for defendants to respond.

In July, the court lifted an arrest warrant in the cases at stake in the current trial, citing a lack of “urgent suspicion” against the defendant. But he has remained behind bars because of the sentence he is currently serving.