Christian Brueckner, suspect in British toddler Madeleine McCann disappearance, acquitted of unrelated sex crime charges

A German court has acquitted Christian Brueckner in a trial on charges of unrelated sexual offenses, although he remains in prison for another year for a separate rape case. Brueckner is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, but has not been charged in that case. The court found that the evidence against him in the sexual offenses trial was not enough to convict him, with unreliable witnesses and media influence playing a role in the case. Prosecutors plan to appeal the ruling, while Brueckner’s lawyer expressed confidence in the acquittal based on the facts of the case.