MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner had surgery to remove a birthmark on his left thigh after an alleged rape, it is claimed.
Brueckner, 47, had it erased to avoid being identified after the knifepoint attack on student Hazel Behan who had told police where it was located, prosecutors allege.
Officers found scarring in the spot described by Irish Hazel, then a holiday rep, and, in a key breakthrough, spotted the birthmark on an earlier scan of Brueckner, who is serving seven years for rape.
A source said: “When Brueckner was examined during his current imprisonment they found a scar where the birthmark should have been.
“They then went back through the records and found a body-scan of Brueckner done by German investigators. Crucially, photos of his entire body were taken and at that time he had a significant birthmark on his left upper thigh at hip level.”
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The evidence against the German paedophile has been presented to judges.
Brueckner was previously said to have spent £7,500 having his jaw reset and four “rabbit” teeth straightened four months after Maddie vanished in Praia da Luz in Portugal’s Algarve in 2007.
Soon after, a police sketch showed a man with buck teeth seen near the McCanns’ holiday flat.
Brueckner faces trial next week accused of raping Hazel, now 39, in 2004 in nearby Praia da Rocha.
He denies it, and other alleged sex crimes, in Braunschweig, Germany.