Madeleine McCann: ‘very significant’ case emerges

Six more cases have emerged on the Algarve that detectives believe maybe linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Above: the apartment building from which Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007.

One, they say, concerns the sexual assault of a 10-year-old British white girl in the “heart of Praia da Luz” two years before Madeleine vanished from an apartment in the same resort in 2007.

It was not reported to police in Portugal or the UK at the time, but Scotland Yard believe the case is “very significant”.

The new cases of sexual assault, on young British girls at night in their holiday accommodation, all took place in the years preceding Madeleine’s disappearance.

There is also what the police describe as a near miss, where the would be attacker was disturbed on entering a bedroom.

The Madeleine investigation is now linking a total of 18 incidents on the Algarve where young British girls between six and 12-years-old have been targeted, where there’s been no forced entry, and where little has been stolen.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said he expected to raise the tempo of the inquiry later this week when a number of requests to the Portuguese authorities are finally approved.

Follow @simonisrael on Twitter.