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The only suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann could be released from prison in mere weeks after a fine against him was paid off by a mystery donor. Prosecutors in Braunschweig confirmed that an unpaid fine of about €1,450 against Christian Brueckner was paid, German news agency dpa reported, without giving further details.

Brueckner is currently in prison after being convicted in 2019 for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old US woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal. The payment moves forward his potential release date to September 17, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office told the Associated Press in an email. Brueckner has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder.

He spent many years in Portugal, including in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz around the time Madeleine vanished. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.

The outstanding fine was in connection with earlier cases against the suspect related to forgery and bodily harm, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported. He faced spending an extra 111 days in prison because he could not pay the money himself.

Der Spiegel reported that a former employee of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office paid the fine, but she had told the magazine she had tried to rescind the payment when she found out what it was really for.

The spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said that if the payment was made by mistake, they could "investigate whether a refund is possible".

Investigators in the UK, Portugal and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night three-year-old Madeleine disappeared.

She was in the same room as her brother and sister - two-year-old twins - while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

This comes after German authorities found deeply disturbing evidence at a disused factory purchased by Brueckner in 2008 in Neuwegersleben, Germany, a year after Madeleine vanished.

Police found stories by the 47-year-old showing his grim obsession with children, including one where he described drugging a mother and daughter outside a preschool, as well as the abuse of a blonde girl aged four.

They also found 75 children's swimming costumes and toys, and records of horrifying Skype chats, where he allegedly said he wanted to "capture something small and use it for days".

Police were understood to have found clothes and bones during the extensive search. Samples were sent for testing with the hope it would finally reveal forensic links to the case.