Madeleine McCann police hunt ‘sex attacker’

A tanned, dark-haired man suspected of sexually assaulting five girls aged between seven and 10 between 2004 and 2006 has never been caught, police said. Two of the attacks took place in the same resort where Madeleine was staying.

Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were at a nearby restaurant with friends.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said: “I’m sure the public will understand that the significant features of this offending – a man with a vile interest in young, white, female children, who he is attacking in their beds while they are on holiday with their families – has got a very close resonance to some of the features of Madeleine’s disappearance.

“We really need to identify the offender, to bring to a close the trauma and the tragedy that these families have suffered, and then seek to establish whether this is connected to Madeleine’s disappearance.”

Previous incidents

The lone intruder is believed to have broken into as many as 12 properties where British families were staying in the Algarve. In four of the incidents, he sexually assaulted five girls.

On six occasions the man sat on the children’s beds or got into bed with them, and he remained calm even when he was disturbed, detectives said.

A man with a vile interest in young, white, female children, who he is attacking in their beds while they are on holiday with their families Detective Chief Inspector

Portuguese police knew about the attacks but ruled out a link to Madeleine’s disappearance because the crimes were spread over a wide geographical area and there were no apparent attempts at abduction.

Four of the burglaries were in Carvoeiro, six in the Vale da Parra, Praia da Gale district, and two in Praia da Luz.

Nine of the 12 incidents were reported to Portuguese police at the time they happened, but British investigators only became aware of three break-ins when the victims came forward in response to televised appeals last autumn.

Mr Redwood added: “If you have been a victim of a similar crime, please come forward, even if you reported the incident to police in Portugal, or anywhere else. Please do not assume we have been made aware of it.”

Detailed description

Witnesses said the man spoke English slowly with a foreign accent and possibly slurred speech, had unkempt hair and was unshaven, and smelled strange. Some said he had a pot belly. In two of the break-ins he was wearing a distinctive burgundy long-sleeved top, which some witnesses reported had a white circle on the back.

Mr Redwood said: “This is an offender who has got a very, very unhealthy interest in young, white, female children who he is attacking whilst they are on holiday in their beds.

“I completely accept that there are differences. There is no abduction that we can see. But the assumption from that is that Madeleine McCann has been abducted. That may not necessarily follow with all our thinking about what may have become of Madeleine McCann.

“It is really critical for us to identify this offender and prove or disprove whether he was involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.”

Mr Redwood said that if names are put forward for the most serious assault, suspects can be eliminated from the inquiry – which suggests that police have the attacker’s DNA on file.

Frustration

The Portuguese police shelved the inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance in 2008, but British detectives launched a new investigation in July last year, making appeals for help from the public on television in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.

The Scotland Yard team asked for help in identifying a man who was seen carrying a child towards the sea on the night that Madeleine vanished, as well as a group of men seen lurking near the holiday apartment.

Investigators have a list of 38 “persons of interest” and are also sifting through details of 530 known sex offenders whose whereabouts they cannot account for. Of those, 59 are classed as high priority and some are British.

But so far they have not been able to eliminate any of the men from their inquiry.

British investigators have sent three international letters of request to Portuguese authorities for help with their inquiry, covering 41 priority areas for the team, involving 287 separate requests.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said he is frustrated at how slow the legal process has been.

He said: “That’s causing us frustration because we know what we want to do and we are ready to go with that. But the process is the process.”

Frustration

The Portuguese police shelved the inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance in 2008, but British detectives launched a new investigation in July last year, making appeals for help from the public on television in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.

The Scotland Yard team asked for help in identifying a man who was seen carrying a child towards the sea on the night that Madeleine vanished, as well as a group of men seen lurking near the holiday apartment.

Investigators have a list of 38 “persons of interest” and are also sifting through details of 530 known sex offenders whose whereabouts they cannot account for. Of those, 59 are classed as high priority and some are British.

But so far they have not been able to eliminate any of the men from their inquiry.

British investigators have sent three international letters of request to Portuguese authorities for help with their inquiry, covering 41 priority areas for the team, involving 287 separate requests.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said he is frustrated at how slow the legal process has been.

He said: “That’s causing us frustration because we know what we want to do and we are ready to go with that. But the process is the process.”