Paedophile was at Maddie resort

25 May 2009
Daily Telegraph

A convicted paedophile being investigated over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann had visited the Portuguese resort the British girl was abducted from. Raymond Hewlett allegedly admitted he knew the layout of the luxury Ocean Club complex and had often parked outside the McCanns' flat, British newspapers reported. The McCanns' investigation team want to talk to the 64-year-old about Madeleine's disappearance on May 3, 2007. He is also wanted for questioning by British police for an indecent assault in 1975.

A former soldier who met Hewlett at a campsite in Morocco in May 2007 said he had admitted parking a van close to the McCanns' complex on several occasions.

Peter Verran, 46, said:

``He brought Madeleine up straight away. He said his three-year-old daughter looked like her. ``He was worried that because there had been reports that Madeleine may have been spirited away to Morocco, people might think his child was her. Then he suddenly said, `Madeleine's not in Morocco'.

``I asked him what he meant and he said he knew Praia Da Luz really well. ``He knew the Ocean Club complex where the McCanns had been staying. He said he'd been there many times and had often parked his van close to the apartment. ``He said he knew the layout of the place, the flat and the restaurant where the McCanns and their friends had been eating when Maddie disappeared.''

Hewlett, who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer in Germany, has denied being involved in Madeleine's abduction.

The McCanns recently released a age-progression image of how Madeleine may looked today