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Antonio Toscano |
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Missing girl is held by child sex ring'
A CHILD
sex investigator last night claimed he was "100% certain''
he knows the pervert who kidnapped Madeleine McCann.
Spanish
Antonio Toscano said the four-year-old was abducted by a
paedophile ring's mastermind dubbed The Frenchman.
He
believes the convicted childsex monster snatched Madeleine
on the instructions of two others for up
to £200,000.
Toscano
believes she is alive, held captive in Portugal. He insists
he knows the pervert's name and will pass it to police.
Last
night Madeleine's GP mum Kate, 38, and heart surgeon dad
Gerry, 39, faced fresh torment after being told of the
claims.
Toscano
began investigating The Frenchman after a tip-off from a
mutual associate a week after Madeleine was taken from a
holiday apartment in the Algarve.
The
caller told him he had bumped into him in Seville, a twohour
drive from the Portuguese border, a week before Madeleine
was snatched in Praia da Luz on May 3.
Toscano
investigated for two weeks, but The Frenchman has
disappeared.
Last
night he said: "I am 100% certain this is the man who
kidnapped Madeleine McCann.
"The
Portuguese police said they did not want me to tell them the
name over the phone.
"They are
sending someone to interview me. I am fully aware that if I
was not right, the information would be very upsetting to
Madeleine's family. But I am certain.
"I
believe she is alive and probably in Portugal.'' Toscano, a
former TV reporter who has helped trace 14 missing children,
met The Frenchman in 2003 while investigating a European
paedophile network.
The
paedophile offered him a 10-minute video of children aged
between five and 12 being raped and tortured, for £6,000.
Toscano
said: "I found him creepy but he is meticulous and
businesslike.
"People
pay him up to £200,000 for a child.'
"The way
he operates I don't think he will have delivered her to the
people who hired him yet.
"He would
normally lie low for one to two months until all the fuss
dies down.
"That is
why I think Madeleine is still alive."
Toscano
said The Frenchman was white, thin and 5ft 7in tall.
He says
he has had three telephone conversations with police chief
Olegario Sousa - leading the hunt for Madeleine - who has
arranged for Spanish detectives to see him.
Spanish
journalist Virginia Lopez, who is investigating Toscano's
claims, said: "We have been working on this information for
several weeks.
"Antonio
Toscano is a serious and reliable journalist.'' Last night
the McCanns returned to Portugal from Morocco, where they
had been raising awareness of Madeleine's disappearance.
Family
spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We urge Mr Toscano to
talk to the police directly and immediately.'' Police said
they would probe Toscano's claims. |
