A German man who is under investigation in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago has been released from prison after serving his sentence in an unrelated case.

The man, who has been identified as Christian Brückner, had been serving a seven-year sentence that stemmed from his 2019 conviction for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal.

In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on suspicion of murder in connection with McCann’s disappearance in 2007 from an apartment complex in a Portuguese resort.

They said they assumed the girl was dead.

The suspect, who has denied any involvement in her disappearance, has not been charged in the case.