The London PaperMadeleine McCann paedophile told to 'see sense'Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett asked to co-operate with investigation into child's disappearance
by: Lara Deauville
23 May 2009
A police sketch of the Madeleine suspect (left) and convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett
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THE family of Madeleine McCann have pleaded with a convicted paedophile to “see sense” and help them find their daughter.
A spokesman for the McCanns says their investigation team wants to interview 64-year-old Raymond Hewlett in the next few days in the hope he can shed some light on the little girl's disappearance.
Hewlett is alleged to have been staying near the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when she went missing in May 2007.
UK-born Hewlett, who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, is reportedly being treated for throat cancer in hospital in the German city Aachen.
He was jailed several times for sexually assaulting young girls and is now wanted for questioning by British detectives in connection with a separate indecent assault.
The McCanns hope once officers from West Yorkshire Police have questioned the former soldier, their investigators will speak to him, despite reports he is seriously ill in intensive care.
Clarence Mitchell, Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman, said:
"Mr Hewlett has denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction.
"Our investigators hope he will see sense and co-operate by giving them whatever information needed so they can eliminate him from the investigation""Our investigators hope he will see sense and co-operate by giving them whatever information needed so they can eliminate him from the investigation.
"It's clear the man is ill and it is clear he has information that our investigators need. It is also clear that our investigators will be speaking to him in the near future."
It is understood that before the McCanns' team can speak to Hewlett, British officers will interview him in connection with an indecent assault in 1975.
Sources close to the investigation say they think both interviews will take place in "a matter of days, not weeks".
The McCanns' private investigators have flown back to the UK from Portugal, where they have been chasing up information received from the public since a blaze of publicity around the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
Mitchell added: "Our investigators have been following up a number of leads.
"Since the publicity surrounding the second anniversary, the Oprah appearance, the age progression picture, the Channel 4 documentary, there have been hundreds of calls.
"Within those there have been a handful of encouraging calls that the private detectives are very pleased with."
It is understood the leads include the names of a number of suspects.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide she has not been found.
