New hunt for Algarve child attacker

coco wrote:looks like this is what Portugal has been so desperate to cover up .

coco wrote:looks like this is what Portugal has been so desperate to cover up .

http://www.theweek.co.uk/europe/madeleine-mccann/53972/madeleine-mccann-letter-paves-way-mets-first-arrests#ixzz2we6VhPsL

Madeleine McCann: sex attack suspect 'dead', say Portuguese

Claim comes as tensions grow between UK and Portuguese police over handling of the case
LAST UPDATED AT 11:17 ON Fri 21 Mar 2014

THE suspected sex attacker who British detectives fear might have abducted Madeleine McCann died five years ago, according to a Portuguese police insider.

Scotland Yard officers announced earlier this week that they were looking for a man suspected of sexually assaulting five young British girls on holiday in the Algarve in the years before Madeleine disappeared from Praia da Luz in 2007.

But a Portuguese police source has since told The Guardian that the suspect was likely to have been Euclides Monteiro, a convicted burglar and drug addict who they have regarded as the chief suspect in the Madeleine case for some time. Monteiro's name emerged as a suspect in November, although police have come to "no definitive conclusions" about his culpability.

Monteiro, who died aged 40 in a tractor accident in 2009, was arrested for some of the Algarve sex attacks but police had insufficient evidence to charge him. He was sacked by the Ocean Club, where Madeleine was staying, in 2006 and phone records placed him near the apartments at the time she vanished.

However, The Times says there are signs that the Met Police might not agree with their Portuguese counterparts.

As well as the attacks on five girls before 2006, Scotland Yard believe their suspect might also have carried out eight other break-ins between 2004 and 2010 – and that means that some of the forced entries occurred after Monteiro died.

The description of the suspect as "tanned" also appears to rule out Monteiro, who was a black African, originally from Cape Verde.

The claim comes amid growing tensions between police in the two countries. The Portuguese authorities are said to be angry at the way British officers, in a press briefing in London this week, presented information about the intruder and expressed "frustration" that legal processes were slowing down the investigation.

David Cameron has even offered to make "further representations" with the Portuguese government to improve co-operation between the two countries.

The Metropolitan Police has said it is "not prepared to discuss" the differences between its investigation and the Portuguese operation.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-portuguese-police-overlook-3262825#ixzz2wUhVOROk

Madeleine McCann: Did Portuguese police overlook potentially vital link to paedophile targeting British children?
Mar 20, 2014 06:00
OPINION BY PETERKIRKHAM

Former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Kirkham says he can't believe these sex offences are only now being considered in relation to the missing girl's disappearance

The latest development in the Madeleine McCann case is incredibly important.

Abduction by a stranger remains the principal theory and the reason behind an abduction is always an important consideration for investigators.

Clearly, a sexual motive is always one which must be considered.

Right from the start, the Portuguese police should have considered sexually motivated abduction as a possibility.

I’m fairly sure they did, as there was mention of them trying to establish if any known sex offenders were in the area at the time.

So I find it quite extraordinary that potential links with these offences were not made previously.

The targeting of English families in their holiday homes is plainly of relevance

lthough most incidents took place out of Praia da Luz, they were a short distance away and in similar towns.

The fact that there was no abduction in other cases is largely irrelevant – the seriousness of sexually motivated offences is well known to escalate.

Any competent investigation should have identified the potential link with Madeleine’s disappearance at the outset.

Inquiries at the time would have been far more likely to result in evidence being secured to definitively link the suspect to her disappearance if he was involved.

Although it is possible now, the passage of such a long period of time will cause evidential difficulties.

Although there may be no link with the disappearance of Madeleine, I’d be just as keen as DCI Redwood to identify and trace this suspect and get him charged with the sexual offences if nothing else.