German suspect in Madeleine McCann case goes on trial over unrelated sexual offense charges

BERLIN (AP) — A man who is also a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann has gone on trial over several unrelated sexual offenses he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The 47-year-old German faces trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany starting Friday on three counts of rape and two of sexual abuse of children. The suspect hasn’t 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 resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance there in 2007. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.