German police have confirmed that the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will be released from jail in under three weeks. Christian Brueckner, who was jailed in 2018 for a rape conviction, will walk free from a prison in northern Germany by September 17 at the latest, prosecutors said. The 48-year-old was sentenced to seven years behind bars for the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005.

While no charges have been brought against him, Brueckner has been the subject of a major police investigation linked to the abduction of three-year-old Madeleine from a holiday apartment in the Algarve in 2007. He has denied any involvement in the case, but prosecutors suspect he was living near the Praia de Luz at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance. The three-year-old became one of the most prominent missing people in the world after she vanished while her parents were at dinner during a family holiday almost two decades ago.

Hans Christian Wolters, the lead prosecutor investigating Madeleine’s disappearance, said he believed that Brueckner was a dangerous individual – but added that the legal situation meant he would be released without delay, within the next three weeks.

“[He] is not just our number one suspect, he’s the only suspect,” Mr Wolters told the BBC. “There is no one else. We haven’t found anything in the last five years that exonerates [him].

“We found evidence that strengthens our case. But in our view, it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely, and that’s why so far we couldn’t charge him or apply for an arrest warrant.”

Previous reports suggested the 48-year-old would be released before the official end of his sentence to avoid “any big media attention”.

“They also don’t wan the chance of any vigilante attacking him, in case they need him back to face other charges soon,” a source told the Olive Press.

“Meanwhile, the police are working around the clock to try and find the final bit of the jigsaw to charge him over the death of Maddie. They know he did it, but they need to prove it.”

German prosecutors are also awaiting the result of an appeal lodged against the decision to find Brueckner not guilty of five other sexual offences, allegedly commiting during the decade he spent living in Portugal.

Judicial sources said he would be closely monitored following his release including through “an ankle tag”. “It will be their responsibility and obviously very important that they don’t let him vanish,” one said.