Former British broadcaster and politician Sir Clement Freud has been linked to the case of missing Maddie McCannn after he was exposed to have been a paedophile.
It has been revealed that Freud, who died seven years ago, sexually abused girls as young as 10 for decades. He abused a girl for years whom he’d brought up as a daughter, and while he was an MP he violently raped a teen.
Detectives investigating Maddie’s disappearance have learned that Freud owned a villa in Praia da Luc, Portugal, the same resort she went missing from.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed on 3 May 2007 while on holiday with her family.
Freud became friends with the McCann family in the weeks following her disappearance, even having them over at his house twice.
The family learned that he was a child sex abuser after one of his victims contacted ITV’s Exposure documentary team, and they were “horrified” to hear the news.
Freud in 2006
Freud’s family has said that he wasn’t in Portugal at the time of her disappearance and that they haven’t been contacted by police.
One of Freud’s victims, Vicky Hayes, allegedly told police two years ago about the Freud’s connection to the case, but she said that police didn’t follow it up, nor give her a response. She said she had read Kate McCann’s book Madeleine about how Freud had contacted them following the little girl’s disappearance.
Vicky, who was raped as a teenager by Freud after being ‘groomed’ by him, told ITV: “He was a private man, not the type to suddenly befriend a couple who had intense media attention. It really jarred with me, left me feeling very uneasy. He had a home in Praia da Luz, but why invite them and cook for them?”
“Nobody else would have thought Freud capable of abuse and rape but he did it to me.
“He was capable of anything.”
Metropolitan Police will assess the new information and decide whether to investigate it.
His widow, Lady Freud, whom he was married to for 58 years said upon hearing the news: “I am shocked, deeply saddened and profoundly sorry for what has happened to these women. I sincerely hope they will now have some peace.”
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