Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are said to be looking for a man who sexually assaulted five girls during break-ins at holiday homes in the area.
The man in question is suspected of breaking into 12 properties inhabited by British families in the Algarve between 2004 and 2010. He is described as being tanned with dark hair.
According to reports today he sexually assaulted five girls aged between seven and 10. Four of the incidents took place before Madeleine vanished and two are also said to have occurred in Praia de Luz where the toddler and her family were staying at the time she disappeared.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, whose team has classed 38 people as persons of interest, said that this particular line of inquiry was a priority.
He is quoted by The Guardian as saying: “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.
“While 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.”
