German prosecutors refuse to hand over Madeleine McCann case file to lawyers representing prime suspect Christian Brueckner

Prosecutors are refusing to hand over paperwork about their investigation into Madeleine McCann to lawyers representing the prime suspect.

Convicted rapist and pedophile Christian Brueckner, 47, is currently facing charges for five unrelated sex crimes said to have occurred in the area where Madeleine disappeared from in 2007.

Four years ago, prosecutors in Germany sensationally named Brueckner as the person they believe is responsible for Madeleine’s ‘abduction and murder’, but so far he has not been charged in her disappearance.

This has led to growing speculation that despite claims they have evidence, there is no concrete evidence to charge him and he has always denied any involvement.

Before the start of his current trial in Braunschweig, Germany, Brueckner told MailOnline that the charges against him were ‘ridiculous’, adding that he hoped ‘they find the truth’.

Now it has emerged that his defense team led by Friedrich Fulscher has again demanded files on Madeleine, who disappeared from the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal’s Algarve when she was just three.

But prosecution spokesman Hans Christian Wolters told MailOnline that they would not ‘give it to him’, adding: ‘He is not entitled to them at the moment’ and refused to be drawn on when charges would even be brought against Brueckner.

When his current trial opened, Mr Fulscher said Brueckner had been constantly linked by prosecutors to Madeleine’s disappearance and ‘repeated it like a prayer wheel’.

He added: ‘The results of the investigation have not yet been presented to the defense so the accused has not been able to substantiate this allegation.

‘A comparable media campaign with prejudice has been sought in vain.’

Defense attorneys say they want access to the file to defend Brueckner in his current trial and have also filed to have it thrown out.

He is currently accused of three rapes and two sexual assaults said to have taken place in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017 when he lived and worked there.

In the latest hearing, a former friend told the Christian Post in court that Brueckner had confessed to him that he was an expert in “breaking into” holiday apartments and hotels.

Post, 56, added that Brueckner told him he was good at ‘taking things’ and had helped himself to dozens of holiday passes which he resold to make money.

Madeleine was taken from her room while her parents Kate and Gerry were out to dinner with friends, but her two siblings were left alone.

Philip Marquort, one of Brueckner’s legal team, said: ‘BKA keeps only one file for all investigations and specifically channels individual findings into various legal proceedings against our client.

‘The right to a fair trial, according to their argument in the latest request for evidence, requires access to all files.’