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BBC MUNDO RADIO
Raymond Hewlett, a convicted British paedophile responsible for a number of sex attacks in the last 40 years, is being investigated in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, it has emerged.
Hewlett, a former soldier, is believed to have been living an hour's drive from the resort of Praia da Luz, in Portugal, when she disappeared in April 2007, reports said.
The 64-year-old has a long record of sex attacks on young girls and is wanted by police in Britain and Ireland.
He has been on the run since Madeleine's disappearance.
The new information is thought to have emerged after Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, made a string of international media appearances to issue a fresh appeal for information on the second anniversary of her disappearance.
New material released included a computer-aided image of what she may look like now, aged six, while another was a sketch of a suspect seen near the holiday complex.
Hewlett, described by detectives as "cunning" and a "danger to children", is a former Scots Guardsman who has worked as a trawlerman and fairground operator.
He has been jailed several times for sexual offences against young girls.
Hewlett is also wanted by some British police forces for questioning about sex attacks stretching back nearly 30 years.
It is not known if he was interviewed by Portuguese police but they have been informed he may have been involved in her disappearance.
The search for Madeleine is headed by two retired UK policemen, Dave Edgar, a former RUC and Cheshire Police officer, and Arthur Cowley, previously of Merseyside Police, who run Alpha Investigations Group and have been hired by the Find Madeleine Fund to investigate missed leads.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCann family, said: "My understanding is he is currently receiving hospital treatment and is currently in Germany.
"Kate and Gerry are fully aware of the development and have been for a little while.
"This is one line of inquiry in an ongoing investigation led by two former police officers.
He added that he believed a number of British police forces had been looking for Mr Hewlett for some time.
"Three police forces have an interest in him and want to talk to him, I believe, about other matters," he said.
"He has a background that would be of interest to any police force. It is potentially significant but I will go no further than that."
He refused to comment on whether Hewlett was in police custody.
The alarm was raised about Hewlett by a couple who met him while on holiday in Portugal.
When Alan and Cindy Thompson met Hewlett, he was living with his wife and six children in a converted Dodge truck travelling from campsite to campsite.
Mr Thompson told the Daily Mirror: "Hewlett befriended us but kept quiet about his terrible past.
"We were mortified and disgusted to discover the truth."
They also described a conversation in which Hewlett said he was approached by some "Gipsy tourists" offering to buy his daughter just before Madeleine went missing.
Mrs Thompson said: "We didn't think too much of this at the time. Ray and his family led a desperate hand-to-mouth lifestyle and someone may have thought he'd be tempted to sell one of his six children."
They also recalled him mentioning a "business" trip to Morocco where there were several alleged sightings of Madeleine in the months after her disappearance.
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